The Past Has a Past, Too
by Hachichi the Medic
Summary: On ancient Keron, a lot led up to the formation of the Romama Platoon, and who they turned out to be. This is the story of how they came to know one another, leading up to their infamous only mission.
1. Part 1

Well.

If you follow my work, you're obviously a bit confused. I didn't announce this to anyone.

Well, the next chapter's taking a little while. Why? You'll be happy when it's out, that is all I'm saying on the matter. There might be a chapter before the one I'm thinking, but there's a reason that this isn't another chapter.

This is another little side story. It's about time there was another one, wasn't there? If you follow my stories, this is the one people have asked about the most, probably, next to a continuation of Freshman Mission. At this point, you probably know what this is about.

I'll try my best to update this quickly, but I have over a dozen assignments due before December 3rd. No one ever said an English degree was easy :)

I'll quit talking and let you read now.

-J Lucy

Part I

Romama stared through the thick glass and at the uniform. It was all too surreal for him, seeing his old Major's uniform in a museum display, like some sort of artifact….

…But it was one, he reminded himself just as quickly…

There was so much more from that era… Things that seemed so mundane to him at the time, but enthralled the Keronians and other aliens that had come to see the exhibit. "The Lost Mission: Back Home at Last".

They were half-right, at least, he thought to himself as he continued down the line of the costumes. That's all they were, costumes, now. Back then, though, they had meant something. They were set up on mannequins, posed same as their old group photo—This photo was in a box on a corner, sepia-colored and worn. It was in bad shape... No one would know that one of the people in the photo was him.

Mahihi's uniform, longer than the others', required his mannequin to be set on a brick. One of Rokiki's, which had been donated by Mora, was on a female Keronian mannequin that had been converted to a male; Romama never realized how short he was compared to the others until now.

He was nervous being here... None of the footage was good, he was dressed completely differently, but there was still that panic that he could be recognized. Part of the deal with the government had been that they would be kept in peace... And in return, one of the stipulations would be that they would help out in this exhibit.

He felt more compelled to come than anything. He had to see it for himself.

He was too fixated upon these displays to notice when he bumped into another visitor, but quickly shot his head over to offer an apology, "S-Sorry—Fujuju?"

"Oh! Romama Shosa!" Fujuju blinked in surprise, and looked up from his program. He wore a pair of small glasses, but removed these and set the program aside. His face was a bit reddened, embarrassed at having been caught in attendance, "I suppose, then, I'm not the only one who came to see the exhibit, hehe…"

"I thought you'd be too busy to come right now…."

"True, true! Between the wedding, and helping the children, it was a bit of a squeeze, but I managed it!"

"…You snuck out…" Romama concluded. Fujuju flinched.

"It appears as though you're more perceptive than ever…"

"What's this?" Romama wandered over to another glass case, this one with several more black masks hanging on the wall, and beside them, on another mannequin, a white coat with triangular patterns lining the hems.

"That'd be what I wore beneath that dreadful thing," Fujuju answered.

"…We always did wonder what you wore under that…" Romama muttered. He had recalled the adults in the group making some more rude assumptions as to what it could have indeed been, and struggled to hide a snicker.

"Well, I wanted to tell them to keep the blasted thing, along with that other bulky nightmare…. The children and Rita want me to keep it, though, for one reason or another… I do hate having it in the house, though…" Fujuju mumbled, looking at the old scientists' uniform with an unusually cold glare.

"YOU WITCH, YOU FOLLOWED ME HERE!" both Fujuju and Romama's eyes flew open, and both wandered over to the source of the noise, and where a crowd was starting to form in a circle.

"Okay, now, girls, let's play nice," the cool voice of Mahihi suggested, holding his hands out in order to appease the fighting Lupapa and Chunini. Lupapa looked ready for attack, while Chunini only smiled and folded her arms.

They noticed the eyes upon them now. Chunini's smug smile fell. Lupapa lowered her fists.

"…Makes you feel kind of old looking around here, doesn't it, Lupa-chan?" Chunini sighed mournfully.

"Mm," Lupapa nodded, and looked about, feeling the eyes upon her. "I feel like a walking museum exhibit… Like everyone's staring at us..."

"T-That's because of the fighting!" Mahihi replied.

"At least you have a nice boyfriend to keep you feeling young, Lupa-chan… I don't even have that," Chunini sighed sadly.

"Would you even know what to do with a boyfriend?" Lupapa grumbled, her hands on her hips now.

"...Play checkers?" Chunini replied quickly, blinking.

"…My head's killing me…." Mahihi grumbled, rubbing his temples.

"Romama? Fujuju?" Lupapa blinked and straightened herself.

"Heyyyyy, half-pint and Akamai-kun!" Mahihi shouted to the two happily, relieved at there now being more company, and embraced both in an unsuspecting hug. Both Fujuju and Romama coughed, feeling the air leave their lungs.

"Oh! There went that crick in my back!" Fujuju coughed.

The five were gathered around a restaurant table now, in a small, Japanese-style eatery. The private room allowed them all some well-needed breathing room, and an escape from the eyes of the museum goers.

"I didn't think it would be so hard to play dead!" Mahihi said with a laugh. "I wanted to shout so many times walking through that place that I was alive, but the reporters that would follow..."

"At least that isn't a worry," Romama said, a bit relieved. "According to the government, it was just our ship that was recovered."

"All of my old music was recovered according to that, too!~ It's being repackaged to make a best-of compilation!" Chunini said cheerfully. "Lee showed me all the pre-orders already. I'll be the first to admit those tracks are bad, but there's so many people willing to pay good money for them! At least the good news is they're old enough to where it sounds like someone completely different. And since all of the old footage of us is so bad, who's to know that it's me?!"

"…You're the devil," Lupapa grumbled, and sipped her tea quietly. "….We have Rokiki to thank for all of this... He gave up his only chance at getting back his family's land to keep us safe and secret from everybody. He's the one who we owe the most to, and he's note even here..."

"Maybe we should just write one book or something, just so I won't feel like I have to shout my brains out when I hear someone getting something completely wrong," Mahihi suggested. "Use a fake name, you know? Something like that."

"I vote Fujuju writes it," Lupapa quickly added.

Chunini and Romama nodded.

"W-What?! I… I'm quite honored, but I simply don't have the time for things like that!" Fujuju sputtered.

"We'll know to not include a few things, right?" Chunini added, a nervous chuckle in her voice.

"I… I simply don't have the time for something like this. I'm very sorry, I couldn't possibly!" Fujuju answered. "Plus I know there are things none of us want to admit to…. It's simply nobody's business."

"No one's going to ask how many macaroni art projects you made while you were looked away in the nuthouse, Juu-kun," Chunini said with a giggle. Fujuju rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"What about your daughter?" Romama looked to Fujuju.

"Rita? She's not much of a writer…. Doesn't really enjoy it at all, she says."

"She does movies, though," Romama continued.

"Oh! I like getting filmed!" Chunini exclaimed, clasping her hands together.

"Of course, it means attention on you," Lupapa sighed.

"We could use that to make a book later, when you get time. Just use it for now while we can remember it all and while we're all in the same room together," Mahihi continued.

"I'm sure she would do it… But could we do it without Rokiki or Kodada-chan?" Fujuju wondered. "And where would we start it? I'm certain people would like to know about our upbringings. There's a lot of curiosity about that, from what I understand."

"That means our Captain wouldn't be in until halfway through, practically!" Mahihi laughed.

"I'd be all right with that," Romama answered, using chopsticks to poke at the vegetarian stir fry.

"Well…. I guess since Roki and I lived together, I could tell both of our stories… Besides, we told one another everything, up until that mission! I think I could do him justice."

"And I could fill in Koda-chan's! Or maybe we could get her to contribute a little! I don't think she'd mind it," Chunini said thoughtfully.

"Heh… You know, I still remember the first time I saw him? I thought he was just a scowling girl, he was so short… Andddd in a skirt," Mahihi laughed. "…It was probably good for me to meet him when I did; my one friend had just moved."

"Really now," Fujuju continued. "What was the chap's name?"

"Well, it was—" Mahihi stopped short. His mouth opened a little bit. He stopped and examined Fujuju for a moment, trying to imagine him younger. "Hey, dude… Just asking, but was your name common back then?"

"Not at all," Fujuju flushed. "Even back then it was the equivalent of being named Hezekiah, Malachi, or—"

"Or Elijah?" asked Chunini. Fujuju only muttered at answer.

"….Really….?" Mahihi muttered in disbelief. "….Really?! O-Okay, dude. We've definitely gotta record this, even if it's for ourselves."

"I brought a video camera with me," Chunini shrugged and reached into her purse. She propped it on the head of a bottle on the table, and sat back down.

"That should do it," Mahihi nodded, and all glanced to Lupapa, who had gone red.

"I… I'm not really good with cameras…." Lupapa admitted quietly, her eyes on the table.

"All right…. I guess I can start," Mahihi shrugged. "Where to start…. Eh, I got it… How about when my Pop decided to surprise my Ma for her anniversary?"

"This is going to be reallyyyyyy boring, but bear with us, everyone!" Chunini said into the camera.

"Hey, hey, don't go knocking it yet!" Mahihi sighed, and motioned for Chunini to move out of the way. "Anyway, I was still an egg… My Pop decided to surprise my Ma…."

"What'd he surprise her with?" asked Romama.

"Jewelry, I'm guessing," Lupapa ventured.

"Eh, no… Something a little bigger than jewelry…."

"Can I open my eyes now?" Enzizi asked excitedly. Gohaha only laughed , and led her along to the back yard by the hand, still covering her eyes with the other hand.

"Not yet… Almost…"

"Am I going to like it?"

"Oh, you're going to love it! I promise!" Gohaha replied. He stopped, and removed his hands. "Okay, you can look!"

Enzizi opened her eyes quickly, and the excited gasp she had be prepared to make was just as quickly stifled, "It's…. The old field in the back of our house…."

"Wrong—It's our old field!" Gohaha replied happily. "Isn't this great?! Now we can expand! All I had to do was dip into our savings and get the guy next door to go half and half with us!"

"The… The one who's always blowing up his house?"

"Yeah, well, I talked to him, and he's a pretty good guy, actually!"

"I… I'm speechless…." Enzizi answered, sniffling. Then the tears started.

"Aw, honey, you don't have to cry! I'm excited, too!" Gohaha kissed her on the cheek, and her crying continued.

"….I would've murdered him…" said Chunini, stunned. Lupapa nodded in solemn agreement.

"Y-Yeah… " Mahihi scratched the back of his head. "My Dad was a romantic guy… In his own way."

"There was an old field where my parents lived!" Fujuju said thoughtfully. "It was wonderful… And that baker who lived next door and his—" Fujuju stopped, mid-thought, and his eyes fell onto Mahihi. "….That was you!?"

"Eh? What's going on?" Romama looked between Fujuju and Mahihi.

"Oh, please tell me it's something horrifying," Chunini giggled.

Mahihi tilted his head to one side, and rested it in his hand, "There was this old scientist who lived next door to us. He had a wife and a son, but the kid got taken away when he was young. Before then—"

"...We were playmates," Fujuju finished, stunned.

"I always wondered what happened to you!" Mahihi laughed and slapped Fujuju on the back. "Looks like you did pretty good for yourself!"

"…I've been imprisoned four separate times," Fujuju reminded him darkly.

"…Okay, so it took you a little while to get there!"

"Well, I suppose I could continue with the story from here… My, this is a lot to take in suddenly," Fujuju sighed. "Well? Where were we? Ah, I remember. I remember my father describing this to me…"

"Hey, there he is now!" Gohaha spun Enzizi around; from the field they could see the man who lived next door to them, in the domed-shaped home with the dead garden. He was old enough to be either of their parents, quiet and a bit mousy, but well-meaning.

"HEY! PROFESSOR!" Gohaha shouted at the top of his lungs. Oriri, whose hands had been full of papers, slipped off of his front stoop and onto the concrete ground. "Oh….Oh my God! I killed him!" he rushed to Oriri's side, but found him still alive, just hurrying to collect his paperwork. As he stood, his back made a loud popping noise.

"I am so, so sorry. Please don't sue us!" Gohaha begged as he struggled to also collect the paperwork.

"No, no, I'm fine…" Oriri answered, and adjusted his glasses. As he stood, his back cracked-His face showed his obvious discomfort. "Just a little surprised, I suppose…. I take it you showed your wife the new land," he nodded towards Enzizi, who remained in the middle of the field. She gave a loud bawl that chilled Oriri's blood.

"Yeah! She's in tears she's so thrilled! I can't thank you enough again! I mean, banks and loans… What do they know, huh? What I needed was a business partner!"

"What did you say your credit was at again?"

"I dunno. There's a three somewhere. Banks don't like creativity. This business will be the one, though! A bakery! Home-baked goods, right from the home! And soon a café out back! Can't you imagine it?!"

"..Eh? O-Oh… Sorry, I guess my mind was wandering…" Oriri answered, shaking his head and clearing his throat.

Gohaha picked up a stray paper that had blown against his leg; this one wasn't like the school papers, though. It was crumpled up, and written hurriedly in pen. "What's this…. Poems? Jeeze, these… These are pretty bad… They don't pay you enough to teach writing, huh?!"

"I… I'm a chemistry teacher…." Oriri's face went bright red. About this time, Gohaha's eyes trailed down to the signature at the bottom of the page. It was Oriri's. Gohaha quickly handed it back, nodding an apology. Oriri, embarrassed, rushed away without another word, his normally chartreuse face a deep red.

And then on the way to university. He got there and found it packed with bored and half-dead looking students.

"All right! Who's excited for the finals!?" he exclaimed, pumping his hands in the air. This was met with a snore . The only one who looked mildly excited was a slightly older student, a tiny yellow Keronian, one who sat in the front row. This wasn't a student of Oriri's at all—It was his student assistant and lab aide, Fijiji.

"Fijiji… You… You didn't have to come today, you know…" Oriri said quietly, walking over to her. "…I know that you have finals of your own, and a dissertation…."

"Oh! I finished that for fun over the break! And my professors let me take my finals early! They said they were more than happy to have me out of their offices!" she exclaimed cheerfully, her hands remaining folded on the desk. "So I thought I could stay here and help you! If… If that's all right…."

"…Oh. Oh! Yes, that's no problem. You can help pass out tests," Oriri answered, handing her the papers. She took hold of these, her hand falling on top of his for a moment. Oriri immediately retracted his own hand, and rushed to the comfort of his desk.

The test couldn't finish quickly enough. Oriri did everything he could think to make himself look busy, and not make eye contact with Fijiji. When the last test was turned in, he stood, the tests now all in hand.

"Well! Only one more day of exams!" he proclaimed cheerfully to Fijiji.

"That's great! I'll come back tomorrow, too, then!" she replied, bouncy as ever. Her smile fell for a moment, and she tilted her head. She reached out, and placed a hand on Oriri's cheek, and then her forehead against his. "Oh! You have a fever! I thought you looked warm! Get some rest, Professor! Feel better tomorrow!"

He hurried out the room, and she called out to him once more. He didn't turn back.

And a little while later after the sun had set, Gohaha started to map out the back field, and the plans for the café, he noticed someone atop of Oriri's roof. He went to his bakery silently, found a rolling pin, and began to scale his neighbor's roof, via the ladder that had been set up on the side of the old dome.

He was just about to attack the "burglar", the rolling pin raised above his head, when Oriri screamed and rolled away just in time. Gohaha sent the pin flying down with such force it left a crack in the roof.

"O-Oh, wow! Oriri! Sorry, I thought someone was… Trying to break in… I… I'm really sorry! Hey, are you all right?" Gohaha panted. Oriri rolled back over to his original spot, and looked downward. "Hey, what's the matter….? You can tell me, I owe you money…."

"You just tried to kill me!" Oriri shouted.

"On accident!" Gohaha snapped in return.

Oriri was only quiet and snapped his head away. He was silent for a few moments, and then sat up and sighed, "I suppose I could use someone to talk to…. Even if you tried to kill me…."

"It was out of concern of a neighbor," Gohaha answered.

Oriri shook his head, "I can't believe I'm telling someone this… All right… There's…. Someone…."

"Are you in trouble? 'Cause, yeah, I know I just look like a baker, but I've got a cousin, he's into some things—I can get it taken care of for you, no problem."

"No! Nothing like that! Just… No…. It's my lab assistant…."

"Oh, really now? What's he doing? He need to get taken care of?"

"There's no one I want you to get "taken care of" for me! She's—"

"Ohhhhh! This is about a girl!"

Oriri gulped and averted his eyes. Gohaha laughed.

"You're older than me, shouldn't you be used to this sort of thing!? ...Well, just tell her that she's going to go out with you, and name the time and place and when she would be ready."

"That seems a little pushy…."

"Yeah… Honestly the one time I tried it I got punched…. Another girl on the street saw it all, felt bad, took me to the hospital… And that's how I met my wife!" Gohaha said proudly, perhaps a little too proudly.

"Well, I don't think I'd like to be punched…." Oriri mumbled. "I just want to tell her that…. I never really have told someone something like this before. You saw my poetry… A writer, I'm not."

"You'll figure it out," Gohaha patted him on the back. "I know we don't know one another all that well, but… I still think of you as an older, distant cousin I owe money to. And I don't just mean the one that's into things. Just have confidence. You're a great guy! Who wouldn't want to date you!?"

"…Plenty of people. People tend to think I'm sort of…. Boring," Oriri replied, looking down at the ground.

"What could make them think something like that? You seem like a great guy!"

Oriri looked up to Gohaha. "The closest thing I have to a hobby is proving theorems in my spare time."

"….I don't know what that means, but there's someone out there who does, and if this girl you're crazy about is just as into you, then she'll love you for it!"

"…Do you really think so?"

"Yeah, I do," Gohaha nodded. "…Now can we get down from here? It's a gorgeous moonlit night, and I don't want my wife getting the wrong idea from this."

"…Yeah…That'd probably be a good idea," Oriri agreed.

The next morning, Oriri walked with a new purpose. It was a much more confident stride. And it all vanished as soon as he got into the classroom and saw Fijiji sitting in the same spot as before. He this time hid in front of the chalkboard, writing out information that the students could fill out on their tests.

"Professor?" Oriri heard Fijiji call out to him. He flinched; he hadn't wanted to deal with this, not this soon. He turned around, slowly, his hand still holding the chalk against the board.

"Yes, Fijiji?"

"I'm sorry to disrupt everyone before the test, but…. It's the last day of classes for the semester, and I'm going to be graduating soon. I wanted to know if after I did, if you'd like to marry me. I've liked you for a long time now, and I think it'd be great if you said yes!"

The chalk scraped against the green board—Hard. All of the students and Fijiji flinched. Oriri turned around and smiled, widely.

"Yes… I… I'd like that very much…." Oriri answered, not minding the sound that much at all.

"That…. That's so CUTE!" Chunini exclaimed. Fujuju turned a shade of crimson. Chunini looked to Lupapa, "Don't you wish someone would be that adorable with you!?"

"Who says they haven't!?" Lupapa snapped and just as quickly covered her mouth. Chunini leaned inward and smiled.

"You're full of secrets, it seems!" she giggled, and nudged Lupapa.  
"Your daughter can edit that out, right, Fujuju?" Lupapa sighed.

"Certainly," Fujuju nodded.

"Haha, I remember your mom, now that I think about it! She'd come in and help my mom in the bakery all the time… Really sweet lady-Never was allowed to work an oven, though, I remember that," Mahihi said to himself, and then his eyes went back to Fujuju, "…Oh."

"Yes, my, well… Curse…. Was an unfortunate gift from my mother…" Fujuju said quietly, his eyes on the table. "…My mother and father were married that very afternoon… She came to live with my father the next week. And they were very, very happy for a time."

"So was the war going on then?" asked Romama.

"Not until we were a little bit older…" Mahihi replied, "But things started up when we were babies. I think my first memory that something was up was actually my dad running out with a shotgun…."


	2. Part 2

Yay, part two :)

"HEY! HEY! You keep away!" the figure draped in black spun around quickly at the sound of Gohaha's voice. He scrambled back as Gohaha rushed him, rifle in hand. "You stay away!" he shouted as the scientist took off running.

Oriri stood there, stunned, a young Keronian boy in his arms. He had been in the process of getting the mail. Gohaha immediately hid the shotgun behind his back as he noticed the stunned look on Fujuju's face.

"HEY! MA! POP'S GONNA KICK SOMEONE'S ASS!" Mahihi shouted excitedly from his spot at the bakery's window. An arm reached out, pulling him back in quickly.

"S-Sorry…." Gohaha stuttered, "Those guys, it's just… It's every day now they're bugging you!"

"Yeah, I know…." Oriri sighed, and set Fujuju down on the ground. "Why don't you go check on Mother?"

"Yeah!" Fujuju nodded excitedly, and rushed in. Gohaha sighed and shook his head, and rubbed his forehead.

"Gohaha… Do… You think you could teach me how to work that?" Oriri asked quietly, eyeing the shotgun. Gohaha, stunned, glanced down at the gun, which he had allowed to rest at his side, and back up at the older man.

"…I think we need to grab a drink…." Gohaha sighed. Oriri nodded, and led him upstairs to his study. Here they could have privacy. Oriri's study was filled with old scrolls and books, as well as a few couches and a desk. He pulled out from beneath the desk a blue bottle, and along with this, two matching blue glasses. He poured one for Gohaha and one for himself, and took a seat on the couch.

Gohaha took a seat next to him, sipped the drink from the glass he'd been offered, and coughed; it was stronger than he had expected.

"Okay…. What's going on?" Gohaha had recovered from his drink now, giving one more shiver.

"….Fijiji caught one of those scientists standing outside of our house in the dead of night about a week ago… They've been coming every night, now, wanting me to come teach at some special school they're forming… I already left that line of work once before… And now they're wanting to pull me back. And what they've been telling me, it's a school for children, genius children…."

"What would they do that for?"

"Because our enemy's running circles around us in terms of intelligence…" Oriri replied. "They've already collected all of the geniuses they could… They tried to get me, but I've been holding out. So now they want me to teach at this school. And I'm also saying no to that… They're angry with me…"

"…And you think they'll go far enough to where you'll need to shoot somebody?" Gohaha finished. "….Boy. I've never been more happy to have been born an idiot in my life! You smart people have it pretty rough!"  
Oriri gave a small laugh, a sad one, "…It's sad, but… To live in a world where I wish that… My own son was less exceptional…"

"Well, that makes one of us! You know he fixed Enzizi's bike last week?" Gohaha gave a hearty laugh.

"…I'm afraid for him…" Oriri said quietly. Gohaha sighed, and draped an arm over his friend's shoulders.

"Ah, don't be like that!" Gohaha reassured him. "We'll figure out something. We'll keep him, you, and Fijiji safe!"

"You… You don't have to…."

"Ah, no problem! You're my best friend!" Gohaha answered. "And our kids'll be best friends, and it'll be like that for generations to come!"

"You… You really think so?"

"Haha, I'd bet money on it!"

"…You're a horrible gambler…."

"Y-Yeah, but… You don't have to dissect everything, ya know…"

"No, no, I understand what you mean," Oriri nodded. "And I appreciate it, more than you can fathom."

Sitting outside of the door, his ear to it, Fujuju listened intently. This was until he felt a shadow behind him, and looked upward to see his mother standing over him, curious.

"You really are curious, aren't you?" Fijiji lifted him up into her arms and giggled.

"I just want to help, too," Fujuju answered. "I want to be helpful!"

"Oh, I know you do… Come on, you can help me! We'll play together!" Fijiji said cheerfully, and carried him upstairs into what had been Oriri's office in a previous life but now gave way to bright colors and numerous books and toys. This was Fujuju's play room.

Fijiji set him down, and found a box of wooden blocks, and laid down on the ground with him, pulling blocks out of the box and helping him to build a small house.

"…Do you think I'm weird?" Fujuju asked, forming the bricks together to build the base of the house.

"…Only as weird as me and your Father…."

"…Pretty weird, then…." he said with a sigh of defeat. "…I don't like being smart…. It makes me weird."

"There's nothing wrong with being a little weird. It's the weird people who make the most difference in the world!" Fijiji replied.

"…I guess so…" the little boy mumbled, although it was clear he wasn't satisfied by this answer.

Fijiji leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, "….Lots of people are going to love you when you grow up. You're going to have lots of babies of your own, and you'll be a good daddy."

Fujuju frowned, "I don't want kids. I don't like them. They're mean to me, all except for Mahihi…. All the others think I'm weird."

"Well, that's one!" Fijiji exclaimed. "…You're going to be a very nice young man one day."

She looked offward, sad suddenly.

"…Uh, Mommy?"

"Oh, nothing! Now let's finish this home, and then we'll play puppets, all right?"

"Yeah!" Fujuju nodded excitedly. He was too concerned with playing to notice the look on Fijiji's face once more as she watched her son play.

"Okay, now it's one of your girls' turn," Mahihi declared, leaning forward on the table. "We haven't heard from either of you, yet."

"I vote Lupa-chan. She's about your boys' age, anyway!" Chunini answered, patting Lupapa on the shoulder. The purple Keronian shrugged this off and grumbled.

"I guess I could…. It's what's fair…." she sighed, and looked downward, "I was the oldest of my siblings. My parents had seven more after me."

"Busy family," Chunini muttered.

"Shut it!" Lupapa snapped quickly, anger over her face for just a moment before she returned to her far-off look. "…Money was always an issue, but I didn't know for a long time. My parents didn't allow talk about that in front of us…. I never even knew what they did for years…."

"What was their profession?" Fujuju inquired.

"….Let's say when I found out, I tried not to let it change my view on them… If anything, it showed me that they loved me even more than I thought…."

Bright, wide green eyes stared longingly into the glass storefront. Purple hands left two identical smudges as an older, dark blue Keronian pulled the younger one off of the glass.

"We're going in?!" Lupapa exclaimed, excited.

"We're going in," Kashishi nodded affirmingly. "…But I don't want you to touch anything, all right?"

"…Okay…" she nodded, and walked in. Her eyes went wide… So many shining pieces of jewelry in the displays…. A girl about her age getting fitted for a necklace with a large amber-colored stone in the center. Kashishi winced at the longing look in his daughter's eyes, and then continued on to the owner.

"…You brought your daughter?" the owner asked, incredulous.

"…She's the only one in school right now, and my wife couldn't pick her up… I know it's unethical, but a man's got to do, right?" Lupapa overheard her father say. So this is where her father worked…. And he'd never brought home anything! She gave a small huff and looked about the cases. Her eyes settled upon one display in particular…. The case was ajar…. If it was his work, he wouldn't mind her touching a little bit, maybe….

The owner sighed, "I don't care what you do, as long as you take care of this for me. That other company's set to run me out of business, I need a miracle. They say you and your wife are miracle makers when it comes to, eh…. Getting rid of problems."

"That's not really a way I think about it, but maybe…." Kashishi answered. He was distracted by Lupapa's giggling, and yelped as he saw she had taken out a few pieces of jewelry and was trying them on for size. "Lu-Lupapa! Remember what I told you!"

The jeweler paused, "….That actually looks pretty good on her. That's a nice shade of green for your daughter. Tell you what, if you want, she can have it."

Kashishi turned back around, "R-Really, I couldn't. She's going to put them back right now and then apologize. Profusely."

"It won't come out of your pay, don't worry," the jeweler waved him off. "…You pick out something else for your wife, too, eh? Times have been hard; I can't imagine she still has a wedding ring."

Kashishi flinched again, feeling as though his pride had been directly hit; that was one of the first things that they'd pawned off when times had gotten hard.

"Please? Can I get these? Please?!" Lupapa begged, taking hold of her father's hands.

Kashishi sighed. What could he do?

He left the jeweler with Lupapa's new jewelry (two bracelets to replace the black strings she wore and two round charms for her otherwise plain black hat) and a new wedding ring for his wife.

"Mama's gonna love that ring!" Lupapa exclaimed, hopping along next to her father. "Can I wear my jewelry now?"

"The neighborhood's dangerous, you don't want to be seen in anything too flashy," Kashishi answered.

"That's why Daddy dresses like a bum!" Lupapa giggled.

"H-Hey now! That's just because I don't have fashion sense, is all!" Kashishi exclaimed. He was right, though… The neighborhood had gone from a series of middle-class shops to towering buildings, more people storage unit than apartment. This was a place where people only looked out their windows for brief periods and through either boarded wood or thick curtains. It had been a better neighborhood before the war and the job losses that followed.

Without a word, Kashishi stopped a moment, and then lifted up Lupapa onto his shoulders. She gave a laugh, enjoying the newfound scenery.  
"Is this what everything's going to look like when I'm big?" she asked excitedly.

"Only if you eat all of your vegetables, like your mother tells you to…."

"But Mama can't cook…" Lupapa moaned. "Why can't you cook more?"

"Because I have to work so we can eat. Maybe you should learn to cook."  
"Na-ah, I'm too little!" she laughed.

"Oh, right! I forgot! You just act like such a big person sometimes, I forget!" Kashishi replied with a laugh of his own. "…Don't grow up too quickly though, okay, Lupe? You only get to be a kid once, and then it's gone forever. Make everything last!"

"…You're really silly…. I'm going to be a kid forever," she answered.

"And who do you think will let you do that?"

"You and Mama."

"But… Your brothers and sisters will all be grownups, right? So you'll still be little when they grow up?"

"No, they can stay little, too," Lupapa replied casually. "…Is being a grownup more fun?"

"Well… Some things are," Kashishi admitted. "Other things aren't. But that's how everything is, and the bad makes the good even better!"

"Eh…. Maybe I'll grow up for a little while, then," Lupapa thought aloud. "Then I'll be a kid again."

Kashishi gave a small smile. He wished it were this easy, but he knew better.  
"We're home!" he shouted as he stepped into the small apartment. He was immediately tackled by four other tiny children, all of varying ages and colors. The little tribe hounded him, until their mother shooed them away. She was a tiny but strong-looking brown Keronian, with the same green eyes of Lupapa and a tell-tale scar running in-between them. "Why don't you go play with your brothers and sisters?"

"I want my jewelry now…." she answered, sliding off of her father's shoulders and holding out her hands expectantly.

"Later, later," Kashishi answered. "We're going to have big people talk now."

"Then I'll be a big person for a while! You won't even notice me!" she replied, her hands unmoving.

"If you're a big person, you can set the table," Iruru said slyly.

Lupapa yelped, "I'll be a kid for a while, then!"

Both laughed and watched as she ran off with her siblings in the living room. Kashishi shook his head.

"Did you get the details?" Iruru asked. "And what was that about her jewelry?"

"That… Guy…. He gave me some jewelry for her. He also gave me this. It's for you," he pulled out a small box, and handed it to her. Iruru opened it, and her eyes widened. "I tried to get it as close to the first one as I could…"

"It… It's gorgeous!" she exclaimed. "I don't know if I'll be able to wear it just yet, though."

"Eh?! What's wrong with it? Wrong size? Wrong color?" Kashishi was suddenly panicked—He could have sworn it was all right!

"No, it's just that… Well, you know my hands swell when…" she trailed off, her eyes looking offward. Kashishi blinked, stunned.

"You… Again?" he gasped.

"….You…. You aren't mad, are you?"

"Are you joking?! I'm thrilled!" he embraced her tightly and laughed, "Another baby!? This is great!"

From her hidden spot around the corner, Lupapa smiled; another little brother or sister. She was confused as to why her mother didn't look as happy, though.

"I… I'm so sorry…." Iruru said quietly.

"Don't be! This…. This is wonderful!" he exclaimed. "The more the merrier! Just think, that'll be six children! If they each have six children, we'll be the grandparents of thirty-six!"

A smile came across Iruru's lips, and she chuckled, "…You're so…" she finished with only a shake of the head. The smile was gone just as quickly, and she clutched onto a surprised Kashishi suddenly. "Please… Make this the last job you do, Kashishi… Find other work after this. There's got to be something better."

"I don't really have a choice, Iruru. There just aren't that many jobs available, and aside from being an assassin in the army, I don't have any skills to offer… I would be well enough to go into the military again, but—"

"No," she said quickly. "It almost killed you the last time! It took you years to recover. I won't let you. I don't care how good the money is! Plus there's a war going on now! Have you heard the stories about what's going on?!"

"It's seeming like a better option than freelance assassinations…. It was different when it was for the government… This... I don't see how you did it all those years…"

Assassinations?, Lupapa thought. She had no idea what it meant.

"Then let me do it again. After the baby's born."

"No," Kashishi shook his head. "…I'm do this, and then I'll look for work again. Maybe there's a construction company hiring. There's a town about two days away from here that was just flattened, they're going to need help to build it back up."

"I… We'll just take it one day at a time, right?" Iruru sighed.

"Right," Kashishi kissed her on the cheek, and rested his head on her shoulder. "We always do. It'll work out, you'll see."

Lupapa quietly backed away from her hiding spot. She walked past her siblings, all shouting and playing, and into the small bedroom she shared with them; there was a sheet separating the girls' side of the room from the boys'. There was a small computer… Not anything fancy, like many people had, but it still worked, albeit slowly. It was enough to do schoolwork on.

She typed in "assassinations" into the computer's dictionary. She sighed in frustration; she'd put in the wrong letters. It had corrected her, though, as it usually would. Her spelling was awful.

It was when someone was killed. The person who assassinated someone was an assassin.

So her father was an assassin.

Her father was a killer.

"And that's when I realized what my father did for a living," Lupapa finished with a sigh. "My mother had also been an assassin, but she wasn't military. She worked freelance before she married my father, but quit for a while after she started having all of us."

"Everyone had to make tough decisions during that war," Mahihi nodded. "All right, Chu's turn, now."

"No, no, no way! I want to find out what happens with you two, next!" Chunini replied. "You can't leave me on a cliffhanger! It's artistic cruelty to do something like that! Did Juu-kun's daddy end up shooting someone?"

"My father?" Fujuju snorted. "Ne—"

"He was a good shot," Mahihi recalled. "He could've if he wanted to."

"Wait, my father?"

Mahihi nodded, "Yeah, man! Some crap about geometry and wind resistance being important "vital" to the shot… I never saw him miss a single one."

Fujuju took this in, obviously stunned.

"So how did it happen that you were taken by the scientists?" Lupapa asked. "Your father seemed like someone of power."

"That was just it… They wanted to get back at him for not lending that power to the war effort… It was similar to why I left England during the War. It was their way of getting revenge on him… They couldn't get to him, so… They went for the next best thing…"

Fujuju slammed the door on his way into the home. Fijiji and Oriri looked up from their books, respectively. They'd been seated in the living room together, and Fijiji immediately stood and rushed to her little boy. He had a black eye and a deep frown on his face.

"Fujuju, what's wrong?" Fijiji tried to take him into an embrace, and he only pushed her away.

"Why do I get picked on just because I know the answers to problems!?" he screamed. "Why's that a bad thing!?"

Oriri took a step back, "T-That's not a bad, thing, son, it just means you're special, is all."

"Special gets me beaten up! I'm tired of being special!" he shouted in return. "And some kids at school said you weren't helping in the war, either! They said you weren't doing your part! They're mad at me because of that!"

"I… Well… It's so much more complicated than they could imagine… You would understand, but…."

He rushed past them and hurried toward his room, "I wish you'd never had me!"

A slam of the door. Oriri stood there, numb, his face red.

"Those bastards…." he finally hissed beneath his breath. "…To torment me is one thing… To attack my son…"

Fijiji sighed, and tilted her head, "I'll go talk to him. You put away the books and don't worry. He still loves you. He's just confused…. It… It's like he's in a school where he's the only one speaking a language, everyone else is speaking something else, and they don't understand them. That's how he explained it to me."

Oriri scratched the back of his head, "…I'll home school him, then. That or maybe transfer him over to Gohaha's son's school… It's not the one we wanted him to go to, but… If it makes him happier…"

Fijiji nodded, and kissed her husband lightly on the forehead, "You'll be all right. He loves you lots."

She then ventured into her son's room. He was on the bed, his face down on his pillow. Fijiji silently took a seat beside him on the bed, not saying a word. After a few moments, Fujuju embraced her around the waist, and she placed a hand atop his head.

"Please, don't make me go back…"

"You don't have to. You're going to go to Mahi's school. You'll like it there! Mahi told me that the playground's really nice…."

"…I didn't meant that about you and daddy…"

"I know," she answered. "…You know, your daddy and I got picked on a lot, too, when we were little. People just didn't understand us, is all."

"…How'd you get through it?"

"Well… I found other ways to show I was sad, and your daddy became so smart, that when those people who picked on them needed a tutor, he helped them out! Then they got to know him, and they didn't pick on him as much. They found out his being smart could be a good thing for them!"

"What'd you do to not think about it?" Fujuju sniffed. Fijiji gulped. She knew exactly what she'd done to remove herself from it. She could smell the ashes as she thought about it.

"…I played lots of games," she answered .This was also true. She hugged him tightly, "I wish everyone could see how nice a person you were sometimes! You'll show them you are one day."

"….And you're positive?"

"Mm-hm!" Fijiji replied happily, and stood. "I'll make some nice lunch for us, how does that sound?"

Fujuju nodded, and hopped off of his bed, "I'm going to go play outside!"  
"That's the spirit!" Fijiji giggled, and walked out of the room and to the kitchen, allowing him to rush out and hurry on to his playing. Oriri stood in the living room awkwardly, as if awaiting some vital medical news.

"He's excited about starting his new school!" she replied, and went to work on the kitchen. Oriri sighed with relief, and went back to his work.

And this was fine, until he began to smell a crisp, smoky smell. At first he rushed into the kitchen, thinking the worst had happened with Fijiji, and she had had a relapse. But she stood there, wiping her hands on her apron, and looking as puzzled as him.

They both walked outside, Oriri already having an inkling of what he might find.

The vehicle across the street, in another neighbor's lot, was ablaze. Fujuju was standing in front of it, a lighter in hand. He'd had feelings like this before… Enough to make him steal the lighter in the first place… But this was the first time he'd acted on it.

He turned around to his parents, and announced cheerfully, "I feel a lot better, now!"

Later that night, police had arrived and stayed at the house. They stood behind the couch in, their frowns unmoving and their black, blue, and gold uniforms crisp.

There was a government official entering the house now. Fujuju wasn't sure of what kind of official. Lawyer, maybe? Mayor? He was old… Dressed in a gray smock, and his skin was a darker gray. He had a file in his hand. He sat in the chair in front of his parents. Fujuju sat in between his parents, feeling extremely small. He hadn't even remembered what happened. The neighbor's car was there, and next he knew, there was a pile of ash and his parents shouting. He couldn't tell what they were shouting.

His mother had taken the blame for the car disappearing. Things like this had happened a lot, she told the police. They looked into her file, and found out it was true. His father didn't say a word during this, only made sure that Fujuju didn't say a word, either.

"This is an order here for your wife," the official spoke to Oriri now, not Fujuju. No one had spoken to Fujuju. "…You have one of two options."

"I'll work for you, then," Oriri answered quickly.

"That isn't one anymore," answered the official in a cold tone. "Your boy… He's intelligent… He's scored the highest it all of his school tests. His IQ scores show that he's smarter than your or your wife… There's a program that would help him to cultivate that now…."

"If you're talking about that program you've been trying to rope me into, you can forget it," Oriri answered sharply. His fingers played at the edge of the couch seat; he was nervous. "…You're taking children and their parents aren't seeing them anymore. You're lying to get your way."

"…You're a bit of a conspiracy theorist, aren't you?" laughed the official. Fujuju didn't like the way he laughed at his father… There was something terrifying about it. For the first time, his father looked scared. "You either give him, Oriri, sir, or he's taken. Either way, after what's happened today, no one would declare either of you two fit parents… A walking hazard and a war turncoat… You wouldn't exactly be looked upon kindly by a judge."

"You're taking my baby?" Fijiji choked in realization.

"I did it!" Fujuju shouted. A hand immediately went over his mouth; this was Oriri's. The official turned his head, intensely interested in the little boy who had been all but silent up until now.

"He'll be a great service to this country. The education will be hard to surpass .Think about it as boarding school, but with a full scholarship."

"You're taking my baby?" Fijiji repeated. She was shaking now. Fujuju was starting to look feel frightened just by the aura of the room.

"If you give him to us now, we'll forget about this incident… If we have to remove him out of the house by force, it will be resisting an officer, not to mention your wife will be placed into a mental institution. And it wouldn't be hard for her to get lost. It happens all of the time…. The call's yours, Oriri."  
Oriri was silent. One of the officers seemingly came out of nowhere and lifted Fujuju off of the couch. He struggled. Fijiji screamed and tried to rush toward them. Another officer held her back. Oriri got in one punch into the official's jaw before he, too, was pulled back. He heard the official's jaw crack—He'd broken the jaw of the once-smiling official.

Fujuju was loaded into a black vehicle, both of his parents into a white one. He pounded on the door, but to no avail. He was alone back here.  
He was taken to a tall tower. There were other children there, in black outfits. He was given one of the black outfits, and a few stern rules by an adult in a black outfit, and, in addition, gloves and a mask. He was scared of this adult.

There weren't any toys here. The walls were stone. Before all of the technology boom, it had been quarters for soldiers. Now it housed rows of white cots. He was led to one of these. This was his cot. The other children looked at him, only dully surprised.

Within a few hours, his playroom, his friends, and his parents were gone. This was his home now, he was told. He would be helping the government, and people would love him for it. They needed smart people like him now more than ever.

He was told to go to bed, it was late. His arrival had equaled a great commotion among the other students.

He looked up and stared at the stone ceiling. He didn't sleep that night. He had the sinking feeling that he would be looking at this ceiling for a long, long while to come.


	3. Part 3

On to the next part, now :)

Part III

"…Man, I remember that next morning… Pop went and bailed out your parents, had to mortgage the house to do it. I remember it because it was one of the only times I didn't see my Ma get mad at him for doing it. He'd gotten a pretty good bunch of lawyers over the years, so they got off eventually…. Besides, seems like whoever it was seemed like they were happy enough with you… We didn't see any more of those scientists after that… I always just thought your parents scared them off…" Mahihi muttered.

"Well, no… And I suppose I owe you a thanks, for that, or your family, at least…" Fujuju said quietly. "…It was a while before I saw either of them again."

"Your folks did try to get you back, though, dude. They tried like hell. My Pop worked with them. Heck, it's that reason he met Roki and his family, one of those trips to the judge's…."

Oriri shook his head and breathed sharply, "Three months… It'll turn into three months of nothing, just like the last three months!"

Gohaha only frowned; he couldn't argue with his friend, it did feel like they were getting a runaround on getting Fujuju back. They had been told during this visit, too, that it would take three months of waiting, and that they should come back then. Last time this had happened, the paperwork had gone "missing". The judge with the broken jaw greeted Oriri with a yelp and a skittish rush into his office during that visit. Fijiji no longer went with Oriri-She was too destroyed after each failed attempt. So now Gohaha went along with him to the offices.

And outside of the bustling city, in front of the courthouse, there seemed like some sort of an outdoor market setting up. Soldiers seemed less than pleased, and shouted at the Keronians unloading tents and other makeshift structures from wooden wagons. These Keronians, shorter, covered in tattoos, and nearly all pink, red, purple, or gray, only looked at these officers in confusion, perhaps a little amusement, and went back to unpacking.

"Don't you hear me?!" the head soldier, and angry-looking yellow Keronian, snarled at the only tribe member dressed in black and purple. His violet eyes looked over this soldier; he wasn't laughing. He seemed worried.

"We were kicked out of our last settlement. Please…. Let us just rest for the night. We've been traveling for days, our women, children, they're all exhausted. We won't bother you," said the tribal member. He spoke the soldier's language, near-perfect, although there was still that Sankaku accent.

"Your being here is a bother! Now move or we'll destroy it!" he shouted, kicking at one of the wagons and rocking it.

The tribesman looked away for the moment, gulped hard, and then got down on his knees slowly, "…Please."

"…Out. Before we have you painted freaks arrested…" the soldier snarled.  
A little boy, a practical clone of the older Keronian, ran over and kicked the soldier in the shin. The soldier snarled and gripped his shin, and raised his hand to strike the child.

"Hey!" Gohaha shouted out. The tribe leader, the pained soldier, and the boy all shot their heads up. "You need a place to stay? I've got a field out back you can have… You can borrow it, or rent it, if you like…. As long as you want, too! It's private property, so I can let them stay on there, right, Oriri?"

"Y-Yes, that's correct," Oriri nodded; this tribe and its fierce looks terrified him with their confused glares.

The soldier growled, and grit his teeth to Gohaha, "They mess up once… It's your head, baker."

And then he was off, leaving them with the leader of the tribe.

"W-What did you just do?!" Oriri whispered.

"I… I don't know! You're the smart one, you tell me!" Gohaha replied, horrified and confused by his own actions.

The leader turned to them both—He was a bit shorter than Oriri, but much more than Gohaha. He took both of their hands and shook them.

"I don't know how to thank you both—"

"Gohaha the baker, and Oriri the teacher," Gohaha introduced himself and his friend.

"I am Rokohoroko," he nodded. Both Oriri and Gohaha took in this name with puzzled looks, "…My other name would be Rokoko."

"We'll go with that, then!" Gohaha laughed, and placed an arm around the fierce-looking man. "We'll take you back to our place! The wives are out of town for the day, but they won't mind something like this."

"…Usually in response to such courage we would wed you both to someone from the tribe…." Rokoko explained.

"Well, we're both married, so that's a little out of the question…."

Rokoko looked to them, puzzled, "Couldn't you just ask your first wives about bringing another wife home?"

Oriri's jaw dropped; Gohahah had to nudge the old man in the stomach to remember to lift it up once again.

They rode in one of the old wagons, across from them a purple, tattooed Keronian woman dressed nearly completely in dark blue robes. In her lap was the same little boy from before. Both Oriri glanced at her awkwardly and wondered if this was the only wife of Rokoko, and why even the women of this tribe were so fierce-looking, while Gohaha went right to talking with her.

"Haha, so you guys have been married almost as long as Enzizi as I!" he exclaimed. "How did you and your husband meet?"

Her red eyes glanced to Gohaha, "…It's not a very large tribe."

Gohaha returned this with a laugh, "You're right, I guess! Well, your kid's cute… He even has a little pretend tattoo that's just like your guys'!"

"It's real," she replied coolly.

"Your… You children get tattooed, too?" Oriri stuttered in disbelief. "What if they don't want it?"

"Everyone in the tribe lives like this. We're brought up to realize it is a great honor," she lifted up her sleeves just enough to show a dot above either of the back of her hands, "I received these the day I was married."

"Really makes divorce rough, hehe…" Gohaha laughed lightly, although he was still trying to fathom the idea of a little boy being able to put up with the pain of a tattoo.

They returned home, and the Sankaku tribe began to set up. Wagons circled around the camp for protection, and in the center, life went on in the tribe. There was a lake to the back of the field, and the wash was already set up to be done.

There was also a place for a fire in the center of the of the settlement, and this made Oriri a bit nervous.

"This is awesome!" Gohaha said with a laugh, looking out of his bakery window. "And I dare one of the neighbors to complain about this..." Oriri sat, shakily drinking a cup of coffee and at the table. There was a knock on the door, and Oriri jumped.

Gohaha rushed to the door, and opened it wide—Several Sankaku tribe members, men and women, stood there.

"Did… You guys need something?"

"You need help your shop?" asked the one, the leader, with presumably the best Keronese.

"No, we're fine," Gohaha answered with a shake of the head, and was surprised as they looked disappointed, of all things. "But… I guess there's some flour that could be moved, if you need…."

The leader nodded, saying he understood. All went to move the flour.

Gohaha then heard a pounding above his head, and poked his head out of his window; some other tribesmen had gone to repairing the flat, shoddy roof. He looked over, and there were others fixing Oriri's yard.

He and Oriri hurried out to find Rokoko. They found him ordering around a few young members of the tribe, pointing at various parts of the camp. Each nodded as they received his or her orders. Neither Gohaha nor Oriri knew what he was ordering them to do; they spoke in a tribal tongue—This language was much rougher-sounding than any language either of the other men were used to.

"Did you need our help for something?" Rokoko dismissed the others to their stations, and turned his attention to his new landlords.

"N-No, but… Actually…" Gohaha looked back to the roof, and then to Rokoko.

"It's how we give our thanks. We don't have much else to give now," Rokoko explained. "They wished to do this. Just as they wished to hold a celebration in your honor tonight…. This is just when they were all beginning to give up home on plain-flaces like you both. This is a gift from gods."

"A celebration?" Oriri choked. As they spoke, two men walked by, carrying a large pole, and on it, some sort of freshly cured meat. Oriri clutched onto Gohaha out of instinct.

"Sorry, it just seems like a lot, and it's not like we really did anything to help…" Gohaha admitted.

"This is the first place for thousands of miles where we've been invited to stay. That is a great gift," Rokoko replied, and patted Gohaha on the shoulder. This was the first time he smiled and laughed, and then he went to go help prepare.

"Our wives… Are going to kill us… And it's your fault..." Oriri muttered, his shoulders slumping.

And as the sun set, the warmth and orange of the fire set in around the camp. Gohaha returned to the camp with trays of cookies. These were taken by the tribes people, who looked at them, somewhat puzzled. After a few bites, though, it was agreed that these were delicious. They trays were passed around happily among the camp.

And Gohaha and Oriri took seats on the ground in a circle, and they sat beside Rokoko around the fire. Both men anxiously awaited the return of their wives.

First were the warrior dancers; these were men with long poles with stone blades attached to the end. They started with a scream and a lunge of the blades. Oriri screamed in surprise at this, and Gohaha laughed.

Fire dancers followed; this made Oriri especially nervous. He prayed that fire wasn't a common occurrence in the band, but this looked unlikely. And then, after these, female dancers. All the while, music blared in the background, heavy in trumpets and drums.

And all the while, a bowl was being passed around the circle, and most of the adults sipped from this. When it got to Oriri and Gohaha, Rokoko looked to them, hopeful. Oriri took a sip, first, and then Gohaha. Both nearly choked on the unknown concoction. It tasted like fire.

The third or fourth pass around, most of the tribe was still seated, cheering on the dancers. Oriri and Gohaha were especially loud—The mystery drink was taking its affects.

And Gohaha's next memory was that of waking up on his wooden baking table, half his face covered in flour. Enzizi stood in front of him, glaring, her arms folded. Beside her, a red female Keronian, a smile on her face.

"Good morning," said the mystery Keronian with a wide grin.

"Who…"

"Good morning, dear. This is your new wife. At least, that's what she's saying," said Enzizi coldly. "That's all the Keronese she knows, apparently."

"Oh… I… Think I need to explain…. Why's that rolling pin in your hand like that?"

A smacking noise, and then a yell from Gohaha. Mahihi heard this from his play area in the front yard. He was working on building a small castle made of the sticks he had managed to find in the front yard. He glanced up as he felt he wasn't alone, and he wasn't. There was a tiny Keroninan child watching him from the distance, watching him construct his house.

"Hey, kid. Kid. Yeah, you," Mahihi called to the child. "You can come here and help me. Come on. Are you in that new carnival thing that moved out back? That's pretty cool. You guys don't have rides like a carnival, but whatever."

"…You talk a lot…" the child answered, and started to build a smaller square next to the one Mahihi was building.

"What's that, anyway?"

"It's the well," answered the child.

"Oh. I guess if it's an older place, yeah. Hey, we'll need water for that…. We can ask my mom, come on!" he stood, and the Sankaku tribe sized up the Keronian boy briefly—He was even taller than most other of the children his age. He sighed and followed Mahihi in. And they found Gohaha and Enzizi in the kitchen with both Rokoko and his wife.

"I understand. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding," Rokoko said to Enzizi apologetically. He then looked past her, to Mahihi and the new friend the boy had made. "Rohokohiki. Is something the matter?"

"We're building a well," answered the child.

"Yeah, she's been helping me build it, Ma," continued Mahihi, pointing to Rohokohiki. The other child's already face flushed.

"You… You think I'm a girl?" he muttered in disbelief.

"Rohokohiki is my son," Rokoko explained.

Mahihi looked to the other boy, stunned, "You're a boy?! You're in a dress!"

"But military officers wear kilts," Rohokohiki answered.

"Yeah, but… That's a dress!" Mahihi replied, and looked to his parents. "Ma, Pop, he's in a dress!"

"Mahihi!" Enzizi snapped. "Enough."

"Am I really in a dress? Is that bad?" asked Rokiki, looking to his parents.

"…Nah, it's fine…." Mahihi sighed, and looked to Enzizi. "Can we get that water now, Ma?"

"It'll just soak through the ground," Enzizi answered. Both Mahihi and Rohokohiki wore looks of surprises; this hadn't dawned on them.

"How's it keep from soaking the ground in the big ones, then?" Mahihi muttered. The Sankaku boy only shrugged. "Pop, how's it—"

"I dunno, ask your teacher or something… Or you could actually pick up a book for once, that might help," Gohaha replied, eyeing Mahihi critically. He sighed and turned back, taking Rokiki by the hand. "…Come on, let's go try to find out how to make this thing…"

The four parents couldn't help but smile at this.

"S-Sorry my kid thought yours was a girl…" Gohaha said quietly to the two.  
And then the four were joined by another pair—This one Oriri and Fijiji. Fijiji was holding onto Oriri's hand—She made her best attempt at a smile. This was actually one of the first times anyone had seen her out of the house in weeks. She looked pale and a glassy-eyed.

"Are you ill?" asked Rokoko's wife, looking to Fijiji.

"O-Oh, no!" she answered, trying her best at a smile.

Mahihi walked back in, Rohokohiki at his side, "Pop, do you know if this place was built over some water?"

"What? No. I don't know…. Why don't you guys play something different?" asked Gohahaha with a shake of the head.

"Yeah, okay…." Mahihi muttered, frustrated. "Hey, do you know anything about marbles, kid?"

Fijiji clutched onto Oriri's hand tightly; he sighed and patted her hand with his free one.

"I'll bring some tea over. It will help you," said Rokoko's wife.

"Hey, how about I come with you?" Fijiji smiled and turned her head to a side. "Your dress is gorgeous, by the way!" she let go of Oriri's hand, and followed the Sankaku tribe woman.

"…You'll have to excuse my wife… Our son was recently taken from us," said Oriri to Rokoko.

"It wasn't their fault, either," Gohaha added.

"Those monsters tricked him," Enzizi continued.

"…The government's dealt us poor hands, as well," Rokoko sighed. "We were promised land, and given land… Only to find out it was on a swamp. It's unlivable land they gave to us, but they say we should give up on traveling and live there."

Mahihi was back with Rohokohiki again, "Pop. We want to play a game on the computer, and you need to enter your name, but there's only three spaces. What's a way to make his name shorter?"

"It would be Rokiki," Rokoko answered.

"Hey, thanks, Mister! See, he knows something," Mahihi snorted toward his father.

"H-Hey, I know stuff, too!" Gohaha shouted.

"I best go check on my wife. Thank you again for your kindness," said Rokoko, and he excused himself.

"Let me go try to get the dough ready for tomorrow. In case you didn't remember, we run a business, too," Enzizi left for another part of the bakery. This left Gohaha and Oriri alone.

"So… How'd you explain your other wife to Fijiji?"

"I didn't get one, so that wasn't an issue," Oriri said, although he blushed as he spoke.

"….What happened, then?"

Oriri turned around, and removed his white labcoat. A black tattoo underneath his neck in the form of an "X" with a dot on either side, "…It's the symbol for an educator, apparently…"

Gohaha burst out into surprised laugher, "H-Have you told your wife yet!?"

"No," Oriri answered, and broke off into a small laugh of his own at this. "She'll probably ask me why I didn't get one sooner…"

"Hehe, hey, a smile, that's been a while," Gohaha smirked, and grabbed Oriri around the shoulders as the scientist when to put on his lab coat again. "You guys need to keep your spirits up… You don't want your kid to see where you guys got depressed over this… Besides, bad feelings like that, it ages you more than you need to be… Let's take these guys as a good sign. If they've already got your smiling, who knows what's next, right?"

"I… I guess you're right," Oriri nodded.

Fujuju was wiping up the tea he'd spat out with a napkin, "A tattoo? My father?"

"Yeah, man—If I'm lyin', I'm dyin'," Mahihi answered.

"All right, now it's Chunini's turn," Lupapa looked to Chunini. The yellow Keronian sighed, and set aside her chopsticks.

"My mother went to school, against her family's wishes. She graduated college, again, against their wishes, and she was not only one of the first and only women to graduate from that school, she was the head of her class. I like to think that was where Kodada-chan learned to be smart. Ultimately she was weak and caved in to a marriage they planned for her. She wanted a family above anything, and, from what I understand, she was told that no one would want to marry her unless she got married right then and there. So she married a total bastard, my father. My father liked to refer to me as the birth that they had to get out of the way in order to get my sister. Not that I could blame him for saying it. Kodada-chan was much nicer, more scholarly. I like to think he was crushed by a large rock later in life. Anyway, that's my story."

"Did you tell it to your shrink just like that?" asked Lupapa.

"Ah, come on, there must've been something good to the guy!" Mahihi waved her off.

"No. He was bad," Romama agreed. "…He shot at me once."

"He wanted to do worse to Eriri-san…" Chunini muttered, looking down at the ground. "…I was kicked out the moment he found out about her…."

"What's this?" Chunini's voice could be heard from upstairs, and she hurried back down. "Mama, what's this?"

"Oh, that's just a few pictures of boys—You know, all military. A lot of them are away for the war, your father and I decided it might be cute if you wrote to them!"

The girl, nearly a teenager, looked over the pictures, increasingly incredulous, "I… Think I'll be all right. Koda-chan can draw them some pictures, those! I hear the soldiers love things like that!"

"Well, it's just that… It might be nice, you know…" her mother tilted her head and smiled. Chunini could read her mother's eyes—"Please go along with this for once" they said.

"I'll think about it," Chunini replied, and walked back up the stairs to her room. She tossed these aside on the dresser, and looked in the vanity mirror, tugging at the pigtails for a moment and then resigning herself to the window. People walking down the street… Other children playing, groups of girls her age walking down the sidewalk—Some holding boys' hands.

"Why is it when I try to picture myself like that, I just can't?" she muttered, and shook her head. There wasn't any time to think about this, though. She reached underneath her mattress and pulled out the sheets of paper she'd stolen away from the school music room—Musical notation. She read the length of the notes by tapping along to the beat on the wall, quietly to herself. She would have to wait until she was on her own to be able to get the chance to sing.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the door open. It was only her little sister, Kodada—Dressed again in the pilot's helmet Chunini had bought her at the market last week.

"Whatcha doin'?" Kodada rocked back and forth on the door, using the handle as balance.

"Homework," Chunini answered, sliding the music underneath her mattress again.

"Dad's home, time for dinner!"

"…Yay…" Chunini rolled her eyes, but only let Kodada see this for a moment. She walked back downstairs, allowing her little sister to lead her by the hand.

And there were her parents, both gathered for dinner. Her mother leaned in to kiss her father, but he shirked away just as quickly. She resigned to cutting up the meat for dinner.

"…Three years those Sankaku bastards have been living on that field…" he grumbled, glancing over the paper.

"That's a shame, dear," said their mother idly. This was how dinner usually went. He read the paper, she tried to make polite enough conversation with the girls. "And how was school, Chunini?"

"School," she shrugged.

"Did you meet anyone nice?"

"Not since last time you asked," Chunini replied.

Her father looked up from his paper, "If you're going to be a smartass, you don't have to be one in front your mother."

"That's your job, right?" Chunini snorted. The newspaper crunched a bit in his hands; Chunini's mother looked up, stunned. Kodada looked around at everyone else, not sure what was going on.

"If you think it's so bad here, you don't have to be here," he snapped.

"It's not like I want to be!" Chunini stood up from her seat, and even he now looked a bit surprised. "Every night, it's the same thing, you come home, you ignore mom, and you ignore us! You don't have to be here, either!"

"I tolerate you!" he snapped back, now gaining his bearings once more. "If I didn't live here, you would all starve. She's never worked a day in her life; do you think she'd be able to afford a nice house like this?"

"G-Gumimi… Chunini… Can't we just have a nice dinner, and then talk about this later…?"

"I'd prefer to have a dinner in peace for once," he answered in a snap to her.

Chunini bolted from the dinner table. Then out the back down, then away from the house. There would be hell for this later, but as of now, she didn't care.

She ran to her favorite spot—A little, out-of-the way area, an old construction site. Building on it had stopped as the war had intensified.  
She took a seat on a turned-over column on its side, and laid back. The sun was setting, it was bright orange out, now. She could see the tower where the scientists lived in the distance. She sat up, and started singing. It was what took her away from everything.

"You're good!" she heard. She yelped and fell off of the column, only to take hold of the pink hand that extended itself to her moments later. The girl Keronian was a few years older than her—In high school, at least—And looked upon Chunini with a kind smile. "Maybe you'd be a good backup singer for me! You ever think about doing that professionally?"

"W-Who are you?"

"Eriri. But I'll probably have a different name when I'm famous. Aren't you a little young to be on your own?"

"My Dad was being a jerk…" Chunini muttered.

Eriri shrugged, "I gotcha. My folks kicked me out a month ago, I've been living with friends. You can come, if ya want."

"No… I can't leave my Mama and Koda-chan."

"Suit yourself. At least let me walk you back, okay?"

Chunini realized she was still holding Eriri's hand, and let go—Her face flushed, and Eriri laughed.

"Come on, it'll be okay. And, hey, when you're done being grounded, I want you to find me again, okay? I really think you're got something with that voice of yours, Chu-chan!"

"You.. You think so…?"

"Yeah," Eriri nodded, and then stopped. She stood in front of Chunini, and tilted her head. Without word, she removed the ribbons from Chunini's helmet, and then placed the cloth on either side of the helmet up, and replaced the ribbon. They were now in the shape of two buns, "There! Now you don't look like such a kid."

"Thanks…" Chunini replied numbly. She really hope, deep down, that she would meet Eriri again after this.

This looked right in her mind.


	4. Part 4

And now, for the next part! :D

Part IV

"So… Things continued with Roki's tribe living behind us for a while, and it was awesome," Mahihi continued. "A lot of those guys started working for my Pop part time, and Fujuju's dad taught them all Keronese, including the kids. Even Roki got to be a natural speaker. Between him and Fijiji, they opened up a kinda… A kinda school, I guess. And it was pretty sweet. You know, no one bugs you when you have a tribe like that living behind you."

"Hey! You get back here!" Mahihi laughed, and Rokiki was quick in joining in the laughter.

Gohaha was awoken early that morning by the screams. He fell out of bed, and crawled to his window—Outside he saw the two boys, a little older now, but not quite teenagers, sparring. Or, at least, trying to. Mahihi proved a good fighter, coming from a line of bakers. And Rokiki, who was much smaller and often had to be guarded by Mahihi as a result, was also shaping up to be a fine fighter. What made the little boy look even more fierce was that he had just had his teeth filed a week before, a Sankaku custom for children his age.

Mahihi had asked to get his filed as well.

His father told him absolutely not.

"You kids… Aren't you supposed to be sleeping in!?" Gohaha called out to them, only after a struggle to open the window.

"Sorry, Pop!" Mahihi called out, "We've got it tied! Can we just have one more round, and then we'll find something quiet to do!?"

"…Yeah, okay. Just don't break anything, okay? Your mom would kill me! And keep it down with the battle cries! We get it, you're scary!" the window shut again, and Mahihi sighed.

"We probably should let him sleep… He'll be a grump if we don't. Come on, I got some allowance money—We can go get some candy or go to a movie, nobody will be the wiser," Mahihi said to Rokiki, who nodded in agreement.

They passed by the camp as they headed towards town—Oriri was in front of a group of Sankaku tribe members, both adult and children, listening to his lecture intently.

"Door," he pointed to the image of the door drawn upon the chalkboard.

"Door," they repeated.

"Good," he nodded, and pointed to the next image. "Bird."

"Bird," they repeated.

"Excellent!" and then the next image—And he did a double take, reading over the shakily-written lines that had replaced the picture of the flower, "…Oriri is really, really old?"

"Oriri is really, really old," repeated the group.

"N-No! I'm not! W-Well, I am, but-BOYS!" Oriri shouted, red-faced.  
Fijiji and Enzizi got a good laugh at this from the opened bakery. A few of the Sankaku members ran the front counter, helping out the customers. There were even some of the delicacies of the tribe served that had worked their way onto the menu in the past few years.

"…They really do like messing with that husband of yours…" Enzizi sighed, and glanced to Fijiji. "How're you doing?"

"Every day is a little better," Fijiji answered, and turned her attention to the back door as it opened.

"Have you seen my son?" asked the Sankaku woman. "He's in trouble with his father… He found out what Rohokohiki wrote on Professor's chalkboard."  
"Professor" was the nickname many had given Oriri—And Gohaha, aptly, was known as "Baker" to many.

"It's all right, my husband knows it's just a joke! He's young at heart, after all!" Fijiji replied cheerfully. "Why don't you have some tea with us?"

She thought for a moment, and then nodded and joined them. Fijiji passed her a cup, and the three watched from the window. Oriri had gone back to teaching the students, and Fijiji watched this, with a particular sad smile on her face.

"…I wonder what Fujuju's doing right now…" she asked herself, and set down her tea. "…Excuse me, girls. I… I just got something in my eye, is all!" she laughed, and hurried away from them, rushing outside of the house.

The Sankaku woman watched this with a frown, and Enzizi set down her tea, as well, "Just just told them it would be another year of waiting… She's taking it really bad."

"I could not imagine being away from my child for so long… But if it weren't for your kindness, it could've been a reality…" she said quietly to Enzizi, looking out at the children playing. "We will find some way to make up for your kindness somehow, someday."

The walk to town wasn't a long one, but Rokiki certainly noticed the looks. Mahihi say this, too, and frowned. Rokiki's eyes were looking straight at the pavement.

"Hey, don't be like that," Mahihi whispered, nudging Rokiki, "Here…" he bent down onto the street, and picked up a handful of dirt. Looking at himself in the reflection of a shop window, he painted a triangle on his forehead, and then looked to Rokiki. "See, now we're twins!"

"…I don't know about that…" Rokiki muttered, looking at his own reflection. He was an entire head shorter than his friend. He sighed and turned his attention back to walking, pausing once as a purple female Keronian rushed past them.

"Excuse me! Amomo, get back here! Mom and Dad are going to be so mad at you!"

"Jeeze, so many people in a rush nowadays!" Mahihi muttered, shaking his head.

"She was kinda pretty…"

"What? You saw like, two seconds of her. Three, tops. Plus we can't have girlfriends, they just get in the way," Mahihi reminded him.

"Well, I have to get married," Rokiki answered. "I have to if I'm going to be the king one day…."

"King this, king that…" Mahihi laughed. "If it's not one thing you're obsessed with, it's another!"

They walked up to the movie theater, and as soon as the teller set eyes on them, a sign went up in his window—It was closed now.

"Hey, I've been here before at this hour! You're not closed, there's people going in!" Mahihi shouted to the teller.

"Come on, let's just go," Rokiki tugged at his friend's arm, but Mahihi didn't budge.

"No way! I know they're open! We just want to see a movie!" Mahihi called out to the teller.

"It's closed to you two," said the teller plainly. Mahihi's eyes went wide, realizing what the teller met exactly.

"I'm going to come back here with my dad, and then you'll be sorry, you—"

"MAHIHI! Can we go!? Just… Please…." Rokiki asked, his voice dropping at the end.

"..Yeah, come on," Mahihi stuck his tongue out to the teller on their way away from the movie.

"Let's just go home, I don't feel good now," Rokiki said quietly, shuffling his feet.

"Yeah… There's nothing good playing, anyway!" Mahihi answered, folding his hands behind his head. "...Hey, don't let that guy get to you, all right? He's just a jerk is all."

"…Do you think people will ever like me?"

"Yeah. I mean, I like you," Mahihi answered.

"I know, but… I mean everyone…" Rokiki replied.

"Well, you're never liked by everybody… But if it's only people who are good and who you like who like you, what's it matter?" Mahihi shrugged.

"…Everything…" Rokiki answered.

"Ah, don't be like that. Come on, maybe we can do some exercise with your dad. That could be cool…. Hey, do you think when you're king, I can be a member, too?"

"…Well, I don't know…"

"Come on, you'll be the king! What the king says, goes! Everyone has to go by it!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!" Mahihi nodded.

"…Well, maybe I can make you an honorary member, since I'm a prince," Rokiki concluded. "…How do I do that?"

"I dunno, just say I'm an honorary member."

"Okay, you're honorary."

"Awesome… So that means my parents are, too, then, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Rokiki replied.

There was a fond smile on Mahihi's face as he remembered this.

"He actually seemed… Nice…" Romama said, surprised.

"So… What ended up happening there?" asked Chunini with a snort.

"It didn't last that long, I'm guessing," Lupapa replied.

"The good things usually don't… The war got worse. We were stalemating with the other side, another state on our own planet, and the guys at home were just hungry for someone to blame," Mahihi answered. "Cool as it was, it was also a fact we had huge targets on our backs by having the Sankaku behind us. They wanted that whole Sankaku tribe done with. They just wanted an excuse. And they got it. They had to wait, but they got it."

"Fijiji?" the back door to Fijiji and Oriri's home opened, and the Keronian looked up from her cooking. She wiped her eyes and smiled.

"Kikerehojo!" she exclaimed cheerfully. The Sankaku woman gave a reserved smile, and brushed away some of the dark blue of her head covering away from her purple skin to reveal this smile. It was Rokoko's wife, making an unexpected visit, a few weeks after the last incident with Fijiji.

"You can call me Kijojo, it's all right. Might I sit?"

"Of course!" Fijiji pulled out a chair for her in the kitchen, and went back to her stove. "I'm sorry, I was just getting supper ready for my husband… He'll be home from the college, soon. They've been having quite a few protests recently, over the war, and it's been slowing him down on his way home."

Kijojo studied her for a moment, silent and contemplating, "…You look as though you've been crying."

"Well… It would have been my little boy's birthday today, is all. It's his birthday and I don't even know if he remembers it," Fijiji answered, sniffing again. She gave way to a smile, "It's all right, though. With Enzizi and everyone's help, I've been getting better. I can even work the kitchen all right now, with no problem with flames!"

Kijojo nodded, and watched Fijiji quietly for a little while, "You're still so kind to the children of the village, even Rohokohiki… But it's obvious how heartbroken you are over your boy still…"

"Well, yes, but… I have faith. He'll be all right," Fijiji nodded reassuringly. "And I'll get better, and we'll all be a happy family again."

Kijojo stood, and took hold of Fijiji's hands, "I would like to help you rescue your son. I've had my husband send out scouts for the past few nights. They're going to make an attempt to steal him away from them within the next few months. For tonight, though… Something different."

"Tonight? W-Where are we going?" Fijiji asked as Kijojo pulled her towards the back door.

"We have an important meeting," Kijojo answered. "Come now! There isn't much time!"

Mahihi stopped. Everyone stopped. Fujuju tried to remain unnoticed, but the half-hidden sob was very noticeable. The British Keronian's head was bent down and he had a hand over his eyes.

"You remember that, don't you?" Mahihi said quietly.

"I… I can't believe I forgot about it, is all…" Fujuju answered. "How could I forget something like that? I…. I suppose I pushed it out of my mind…. I thought I'd never be happy again after that, and… Happy just hurt too much to remember it…"

Mahihi placed a hand over the chartreuse Keronian's back, "You want me to tell it, Fuju?"

"No… I think I can… I think I'll be all right," he wiped his eyes and continued on from where Mahihi had left off.

Fijiji was shocked to see Oriri standing opposite of her; they stood by a tree, a distance away from the scientists' home. There was a Sankaku guard next to Oriri, and Kijojo followed Fijiji. He had been met by the guard at the college. It was no secret that he was friends with the Sankakus; so it was not unusual for him to be seen with one of the men of the tribe.  
And through the shadows, they slowly saw a figure approaching them—Two figures. One an adult scientist, and the other a younger one, wearing a yellow and red cap. The younger one took off running as soon as he recognized Oriri and Fijiji, and he embraced them both.

The adult took off his mask to reveal another Sankaku tribe member, "I can't have him away long—They do a roll call before bed. I'll have to be out of there as well by then, Miss."

"We have people in the most surprising places," said Kijojo with a smile. They didn't pay any attention to her, and she was understanding of this. They barely said any words to one another. "…If you can be patient enough, we'll be able to make it so one of these nights, he'll be able to go home with you."

"Do I have to go back now? Can't I stay with them? Can I stay, please?" Fujuju asked, looking up to Kijojo. His voice was a little deeper than last time, and through the years he'd grown taller. His voice was much quieter than either Oriri and Fijiji remembered, and his mannerisms much different. He seemed unused to all of the personal contact, and even a bit uncomfortable, even with the hug from his parents.

"It's too dangerous now. I'm sorry," Kijojo explained.

"We'll see you again soon. We've waited this long," Oriri embraced him once more, "Don't worry, son, you'll be back with us in no time."

"Come now. We must go," Kijojo turned around. Fijiji embraced her from the time, and this surprised the Sankaku woman; she understood this as part of Keronian culture, though, and allowed the grateful Fijiji to do so.  
And as the four walked back away from the scientists' lair under cover of dark, they did not know that they were being watched from afar.

"I suppose I should feel a little bad for punching their son, now," said Fujuju with a small embarrassed smile, "That was the first hug I had in years…. They looked exactly as I'd left them, I remember…"

Mahihi patted him on the back, "It's okay, man… And he deserved the punch, so don't you feel bad… So, while this was going on, Roki had become the brother I'd never had… And that was great until the night that the military moved it on them…"

Chunini flinched, "…I…. Remember my dad mentioning something about it…."

"What?" Mahihi turned his head.

She shut her eyes and sighed, "My father was military. I remember hearing about the Sankaku and what happened to them. Most higher-ups like him were involved… They knew that one of Roki-kun's tribe's members had gotten into the scientists' home, and they let them stay there, all while they watched. They used that as their excuse to finally move in on them. What's the American saying for that, Hii-kun?"

"They were sitting ducks," Mahihi answered.

Chunini gulped dryly, "He was proud of what had happened… It was so sick… They caught a group of Sankaku trying to steal government property, he said. And he laughed about it the entire time… And my mother just nodded… And she said nothing, nothing at all."

"We got them contained, all right," Gumimi said to his wife cheerfully. This was one of the only times he spoke to her in a happy tone. He was in the living room, relaying the story to her. Chunini had stopped halfway on the stairs, more music sheets underneath her homework under her one arm, and listened. "They'd had the one guy going back and forth into the scientists' house for months. They had the entire place staked out. All of the exits mapped and everything! Not bad, a lot smarter in that respect, I guess… Smart as people who don't even know how to speak proper Keronese could be, anyway…"

Chunini's mother said nothing, but kept on dusting the living room, nodding and occasionally giving a small noise to show she was still paying attention. Chunini peered in and watched her mother's sideways glance. Itoto looked as though she could've punched her husband at that moment.  
"We caught them right as they were going to go into the scientist house. Shot the one… Another got away, but she's bound to be at that camp that baker set up. They all stick together… A college teacher and his wife were there, too… We think it was their son they were trying to get back, they've had their brat for few years now."

Chunini shook her head, and hurried up the stairs. She laid out the music notation in front of her now on the floor. Anything to get her mind off of things. She'd heard about it, in whispers at school, mainly, but she didn't know her father had been that involved. She heard the door of her room open, and scrambled to hide it. It was too late, though, she knew her mother had seen it all. What use was hiding it? She left it on the floor, and instead allowed her mother to take a seat on the edge of the bed.

"I know you don't like me very much, but… Would it be all right if I sat in here for a little while?" she asked Chunini quietly. "….I don't want to hear him talk about that anymore…"

"….Mama, you can always leave him…." Chunini said to her mother. "You can leave me and take Koda if you want. I can handle him."

Her mother only shook her head, "It's been too long now… I wouldn't know what to do with myself… Those poor people… How could someone do that and be happy about it? They were just trying to help, they've never done anything wrong. How could someone be like that, Chunini?"

"…I… I don't know, Mama…."

Her eyes fell down to the music sheets on the floor, "You're into music now? You know he doesn't like music…."

"I know."

"That must be why you like it now," she said quietly. "Chunini… Please… As soon as you can, find a way out. Find a nice boy, and get married. It'll be your way out of here, and your way out of all of this."

Her mother stood and walked out without another word. Chunini had other ideas, although they did involve moving. On the back of one of the sheets was written her plan—Move in with Eriri, take Kodada with her, become a famous singer, live happily ever after. Things would go like this, and she would make it happen—she had sworn to it.

"…Your dad really was the devil, wasn't he?" Mahihi muttered. "Reminds me of my old commander with Roki… Couldn't be the same guy, though… Anyway, yeah, I remember that Fijiji and Oriri were missing that next morning… We kinda knew what was going to go on that night, but Oriri didn't tell us a whole bunch about what they were doing. He wanted us to know as little as possible, I think, to keep us out of trouble. We still ended up getting involved in it, though…"

It was another summertime day, and Mahihi walked beside Rokiki. Both had visited the book store, and had each bought a stack of comic books. They would trade these later—Double the reading for them both. They had attempted to ask Oriri if there was anything they could pick up for him, but they found the door of his house locked and the windows dark. They didn't think much of this, but Mahihi couldn't escape the worried look on his father's face as Gohaha looked out at the darkened home.

"If they ask, it's to help you learn Keronese," Mahihi instructed his friend as they already began to look through the books.

"Right," Rokiki nodded.

Mahihi stopped as they approached their houses and noticed all of the neighbors on the front lawns. His father was arguing with a soldier. His mother was also at the door. He wasn't sure what they were shouting about. His father was pushed, but he didn't push back.

Without having time to think about what had happened, Mahihi was pulled away from Rokiki, his comics falling to the ground. And he was loaded into the back of a white car, his parents following him. Gohaha was tossed in, slamming against the back of the van's wall. Rokiki was left on the sidewalk, wondering exactly what was going on, and staring, dumbstruck, at the white vehicle.

Mahihi watched from the back window until he could no longer see his friend, and then turned his attention to his aching father, "Pop! Pop, what happened?!" Mahihi asked frantically. "Where are we going!? What're they doing!?"

"I don't know… Something about questioning…" Gohaha answered, shaking his head. "Fijiji and Oriri tried to get Fujuju out of that scientist home last night with a few of Rokoko's tribe members… They got caught…"

"Oh my God…" Enzizi gasped, placing a hand over her mouth.

"So what's that mean for us?" asked Mahihi. "What's that mean for everybody?"

"I… I don't know…" Gohaha answered quietly. Mahihi joined his mother on the bench on the side of the van, and clutched onto her. He wasn't afraid to show he was terrified by the possibilities.

"…We were questioned most of the rest of the day… Stupid stuff, mainly, like where we were. Things like that," Mahihi continued, "… Hell, they even questioned me… And when we got back, two days later after all of that, the whole tribe was gone… Fujuju's parents got released, too, but that was only because the government made it sound more like they'd been forced by the Sankaku to help, and that it was all the tribe's idea. It didn't make a damn bit of sense, but everyone went with it, except for the people who actually knew the Sankaku, that was. The insides of both of our homes were a totally trashed. The soldiers told us that the tribe had moved on, and had gotten off with a warning… But we weren't dumb. There was still blood on the grass. And we heard from other neighbors about what had happened… We didn't get any details, though. Everyone who could've given us anything had been paid off. The government, they'd been wanting forever to get rid of the Sankakus… And they did. They finally did…. All except for Roki. He'd hid out in my toy box all that time… He was the one who told us what really had happened. It took him months to, though… That… Totally changed him. He didn't speak forever. Hell, he didn't sleep with a light off until he joined the military, even then, it made him antsy. I still don't know all of the details about it, but, damn, I don't want to know that bad to ask him to relive that."

"So…They did come for me…" Fujuju said quietly. "…I waited for them… I always wondered what happened to them… I heard about the Sankaku settlement, but… My Lord… It... It was my fault?"

"Nah," Mahihi shook his head. "And don't you even think that. They had a list the length of my arm about what they couldn't taken them out for; that was just what they thought was the best excuse."

"I remember hearing about that, too…" Lupapa chimed in, "We just whispered about it, though. Everyone was so scared that the government had done that, we were afraid of it happening to us, too. That was about the time my parents decided they didn't have any other options aside from joining the military… They didn't go in as soldiers, but more like mercenaries… I had seven brothers and sisters to look after then, and when they left, I was put in charge of them…"

"Do you both gotta go?" the smallest Keronian child, a little purple, blue-eyed girl, looked up to her parents sadly.

"Mm, but don't worry! Lupapa is a great caretaker!" Kashishi reassured her, and knelt down in front of her. While this happened, Lupapa stood there, the seventh child, a sickly boy named Hiyoyo, in her arms. He coughed and muttered something, and Iruru gave a pained look at this. She averted her eyes, though, and instead reached out for one of Lupapa's hands.

"We won't be long. We'll write to you as often as possible," Iruru reassured her. "The war's near its end now, so we'll be home soon. You take care of them until then, Lupapa. You're in charge, you'll do a great job."  
Iruru picked up her knapsack, as did Kashishi. Lupapa wondered if there were anything contained in the bags that they'd used to kill people with.

"Mom, Dad?" she called out to them as they started to descend down the apartment stairs, "…Keep safe and be home soon, all right?"

"You can count on us!" Kashishi called back to her. Another flight of stairs, then another, and then they were out of sight from all of the children.

"The war ended a year later, and everyone's famlies started to return after that… Everyday someone's parents would come back. And I waited for mine…"

The chaos was evident in Lupapa's household. Toys and clothes were everywhere, children were screaming. She opened the kitchen cabinets, and felt her stomach churn—It wasn't just the hunger. It was the fact that there was nothing to feed her siblings. The money from both of her parents had been good for a time, but had run out. And she hadn't gotten any money in months.

There was literally nothing in the empty cabinet, and seven hungry siblings begging for dinner. She looked back at the children playing, nervous. She then looked around the house to see if there was anything worth pawning… The silverware was the best option. It was worth even more than her jewelry, and she was secretly grateful for this.

She picked it up in the large wooden box it was kept in, and spirited it away, to the pawn shop, without saying a word to her siblings. She had made a hasty excuse of being out of bread and needing to make a run to the store.

The money she received from it was enough to buy groceries, but the rent was still an issue, her mind reminded her as a lump formed in her throat. While the pawn owner went to the back to find change to give her, her eyes fell down to the pawned jewelry, left out on the counter in its trays. She was young, what would she want with it?

She slipped a few of the rings underneath her hat, the pawn owner came back in with the change, and she was on her way. She could probably never go back there now, but there was another pawn shop further down the way.

Lupapa stopped and removed the jewels from these rings on her way to this shop. She walked to the other pawn shop a little down the way, and after selling these, there was enough for four months rent. The gold could be mailed away and would give her a little more money, maybe even more grocery money.

She was a thief now, but she could also feed her family now. It was a mixture of guilt and relief that coursed through her.

The young girl bought a cartful of groceries, and it was a struggle to get it back to her house—But she managed it, a wide and proud smile on her face. How she had afforded the groceries exactly was all but out of her mind. She had picked up everyone's favorites foods to prepare. She'd even had money for treats and snacks. She could see their faces now, like it was a holiday.

There was a soldier at their apartment's front door. Her blood immediately froze—How could he have known this quickly? She shook, and went to turn, but it was too late, she was spotted. She would be sent off to jail and given hard labor. Her parents could be contacted, and she would be in trouble. What would happen to her brothers and sisters? The thought alone made her nearly burst into tears.

"Are… Are your parents Iruru and Kashishi?" asked the young soldier. "You… You're younger than they even said… Heh. Here, let me help you with your groceries…" he took a few bags, and he followed her in. It was never good when soldiers showed up at your door, she remembered. It only meant a couple of things. Lupapa swallowed hard—Maybe they'd just been delayed. Maybe it was their money, they couldn't mail it away, so they had sent this soldier with it.

"Can we sit?" he asked. Sitting. Sitting wasn't good. He wanted her seated. He didn't want to give her the opportunity to faint while standing. She nodded quietly, and set down the piles of groceries on the floor. She had yet to say a word to him.

He looked about ready to cry himself as he spoke to her, "I'm… I'm so sorry… And I don't know how to tell you this easily… Your parents…."

"No," she said. It wasn't a stunned no. It was a refusing to believe what he was about to say no. His head shot up to her, stunned.

"I'm so sorry for your loss. They… They were great warriors," he continued. Why was he speaking about them like they were dead?, she wondered. She still refused to believe it. "Your parents both… Passed away some months ago. I'm so sorry. Communication is bad; we only were able to get the news out to you now. Do you… Have someone here taking care of you?"

"Yes," she answered automatically. This was a lie. Both of her parents had been orphans. That was why they had wanted such a big family. Had wanted. Again with past tenses. They weren't dead, though.

"I… You'll start receiving benefits in a little while. They'll be placed in a trust fund for you and your siblings; you'll be able to access it through your guardian."

Guardian? What guardian? She was the guardian.

"If… If there's anything you need, here," he held out a white card to her. "It's a helpline. I'm so sorry again for your loss."

He stood, nodded, and excused himself. He looked as though he was about to throw up. He left the room while visibly shaking.

And Lupapa sat there, the groceries around her, the gold of the rings still underneath in her hat. The card was in her hand. And she said nothing, but felt the seven sets of eyes behind her. Her siblings. They would want to know who the visitor was. She would have to explain it to the seven different children—Console seven different people, offer several different sets of answers.

And no matter what she said, did, or stole would ease the blow of this.


	5. Part 5

You can blame Christmas-type activities for this not getting out earlier XD; Anyway, please, enjoy.

Part V

"Man, that's… That's pretty tough, Lupapa-chan…" Mahihi rubbed his forehead.

Lupapa leaned forward, her arms on the table. The meal was getting cold now, but it was all mainly scraps anymore, anyway, "I think that's what helped me connect with Rokiki so well… We both lost so much at a young age…"

"Yeah, that incident totally changed him… My parents thought about moving, but he didn't want them to do that. He knew they were already in over their heads with loans… It was impossible to move, and he didn't have anywhere else to go, so he had to look out at that field and get reminded how everyone he knew lived there at one time… But we were still brothers, even though it definitely scarred the dude for life. And for some weird reason, he got it in his mind when he was older that he actually wanted to join the military…"

"So you don't know why he joined?" Romama asked.

Mahihi shook his head, "I guess he thought it was one way to show people that he wasn't broken… But I think one of the only reasons he did join was because he was. All I know is, he was a good salesman, because talked me into enlisting with him…"

"Your father must have been very proud!" Fujuju exclaimed.

Mahihi turned to him, "My father slapped me on the back of the head and then gave me a lecture for two hours on how after everything that had happened to us we were morons for joining up with those people… And when we went away for training, I almost thought the old man was onto something… Our Commander was the very definition of a rat bastard."

"Sounds like he would've gotten along with my father," Chunini snorted.

"Hey, maybe they hung out together. The guy's name was Gumimi," Mahihi answered. Chunini showed no emotion, or at least tried not to. "He had more than one reputation around the camp… One, for being a tough as nails soldier… The other…"

"…Oh, it was that one, wasn't it?" Lupapa's expression grew dark. "I heard Rokiki mention him once or twice… He got so upset even mentioning him after that I never brought up his name again…"

"I… Think it best I order us some dessert and tea," Fujuju suggested quietly, and turned to open the door and call for the waitress. She returned with plates full of desserts—Not all exactly Eastern-inspired, but all delicious the same. The group began to eat as Mahihi continued his story.

"All right!" Gumimi snarled at the recruits; among them, Mahihi and Rokiki. The two had not long ago become adults, now lacking their tails and mainly-white faces, and stood side-by-side. Mahihi had outgrown Rokiki height-wise by more than a head, and even with this, Rokiki had still grown to become more fierce-looking. He wore the facial tattoos of his ancestors; one crescent beneath each eye. There was much more space reserved for more trophies. Mahihi had done the honor of placing them on Rokiki, and although still a bit disturbed that Rokiki had asked him to go about the traditional way of tattooing (using a chisel), he was proud to have done this for his friend.

Gumimi was their superior, and in their whispers to one another, he was the devil. He seemed hard on all of the soldiers, but for one reason or another, seemed even more tough on Rokiki. The red Keronian was used to this by now, though. He just worked harder, and worked through it all. In some sick way he'd worked himself up from Gumimi's most reviled soldier to the teacher's pet, always putting forth more effort than any other student. And Gumimi, in turn, liked to see how far he could push the young recruit. This worked out so that Rokiki had surpassed nearly every other soldier in the rank, including Mahihi.

"What you have here… Is the obstacle course… Your entire training… Has been an obstacle course… And your entire training… Has led up to this. Your graduation day is in a week, gentlemen. Don't let me down!" Gumimi announced as he paced back and forth across the group, his arms folded behind his back.

"I bet I can make it out before you," Mahihi whispered to Rokiki out the side of his mouth. Rokiki glanced to the side and smiled at Mahihi.

"That some sort of bet?"

"Now… You know we're not allowed to bet… But If I make it out first, you're buying me dinner…"

"…It's a deal."

And they took off. Through ropes, over a high wooden wall, scaling back  
down the same wall, over a rickety bridge, climbing up a rope and then climbing a net down, among other exercises.

"Damn it!" Mahihi panted and collapsed on the ground at Rokiki's feet. The shorter soldier had made it out long before him, and stood there waiting at the finish line, not even winded. "…All right… Just nowhere expensive, all right?"

"Don't worry, I'm a cheap date," Rokiki reached down and patted him on the shoulder.

"Rokiki," Gumimi called to the soldier, and Rokiki left Mahihi and hurried over to his superior.

"You wanted to see me, Sir?"

"I need you to meet me later in my office. There's things we need to talk about… About after your graduation…" Gumimi answered.

"Really?" Rokiki blinked, and Gumimi only nodded. A promotion, maybe?

"Tonight at seven. For now, however, you are dismissed. Your chubby friend is, too," he added, looking down in disdain at Mahihi. "And… Rokiki. Come by yourself. This is private business."

"Hey… Did he just call me chubby?" Mahihi panted.

"No. Come on," Rokiki lifted him up and walked out of the training session with his friend by his side. "He wants me to meet him tonight."

Mahihi was surprised by this, and then a look of worry shadowed over him, "You be careful with him, Roki… I've been hearin' things about him from the guys…"

"…What sort of things?" Rokiki eyed his superior, who by now was busying himself shouting at other recruits who had yet to complete the obstacle course.

"Just… Things… Watch your back, all right? Maybe I should come with you, just in case…"

"No. He said just me. I'll be all right," Rokiki answered, and looked up to Mahihi. "We aren't kids, I can protect myself now."

"What sort of things?" from all people, this came from Chunini. All gave her a surprised look, and she shrunk back down. She hadn't even touched any of the desserts, not even the cheesecake, which, even on a good day, she would've knifed someone for.

"Uh, well, I was gettin' to that…" Mahihi answered. "I don't know if I should include it, though."

"If anything, if you tell it, it'll get him out of hiding so he can beat the crap out of you," Lupapa added, taking a bite of her cake. "What's it matter if everyone thinks we're dead, anyway?"

"I guess so… We can always decide what we want in and out later, anyway," Mahihi shrugged. "So, Roki went alone that night, and met Gumimi-sensei in his office."

And that night, after a large dinner at a local diner, all Mahihi's treat, Rokiki walked back onto the base, and to the office of Gumimi. It was the only office in the long hallway with the light on.

"Sir? Permission to enter?" Rokiki asked through the hazy glass. Gumimi's name and rank were written outside. Rokiki hoped to have a door like this one day, too.

And he found Gumimi looking out his window—There was a lovely view of the city at night from here, complete with all of its lights. Rokiki hoped to have a view like this one day, too, if he worked hard and long enough.  
Gumimi's office consisted of a desk, as well as a few pictures on it. There were a few shelves in the back, with books—Mainly military strategy guides, and little on any other subject. And there was a glass decanter and two matching crystal glasses to go along with it—There'd been a bit of a rumor that the captain was a bit of a drinker in his off time. Rokiki took this as a sign that this wasn't just an unfounded theory.

"…My daughters…" he turned around and face Rokiki, and held up one of the photos.

"They're lovely, Sir," Rokiki nodded. He barely paid a second glance to the photo, and Gumimi set it down again. He was still mulling over his mind what could have possibly led his captain to summon him at such a late hour.

"…The one's spineless, and the other's nothing like a daughter should be…" Gumimi muttered. "….Or maybe it's because she's brave enough to be what I can't."

Rokiki frowned in confusion. For the first time, he noticed Gumimi's cape hanging up in a corner of the room—It was the first time he had seen his commanding officer without it. He looked almost like a civilian without it, Rokiki thought wryly.

"Excuse me, Sir?" Rokiki asked, breaking the now awkward silence that filled the room. He couldn't help but feel like he was venturing into a snake pit in asking, though.

"….You, Rokiki… You're one of those Sankaku, right?"

"Y-Yes, Sir. The last," Rokiki nodded.

Gumimi glanced over to Rokiki, a little bit of a playful coldness in his eyes, "Why do you think they spared you for all of these years?"

"I… I'm not sure, Sir…." Rokiki admitted. "I've tried to find a reason, though…"

"Your best guess?"

"That I'm an example," Rokiki answered. "I'm an example of what can happen when someone steps out of line. I'm to remind people of that."

Gumimi stepped forward, and squinted at him, "…You're in the military, and you still wear those tattoos… I can't really figure you out, either, now that I think about it… Why exactly are you here?"

"To… Show them I'm another kind of example," Rokiki answered, having to search for the reply him.

"Heh…" Gumimi leaned back against his desk, his eyes on the ground, "Your culture believed in multiple marriages, right?"

"…Yes, but… I know it's frowned upon here…" Rokiki replied.

"A lot of things are," Gumimi answered. "…I wouldn't have gotten married unless the alternative of staying single wasn't frowned upon here, too. That way there wouldn't have been any children… And there wouldn't have been any problem…"

"…We… We also believe in the importance of family, and respecting the importance of every member in a family—Even if we don't always get along with one another."

Gumimi gave a smirked, and stepped over to Rokiki gingerly, "If only you knew what it was like to put up with them day after day…."

"Sir?" Rokiki took a step back—Gumimi was becoming a little too close for the lower-ranking soldier's comfort.

"…You can certainly feel what it's like to be an outsider, too, can't you?"

"…I'm thinking you're drunk…."

"So? You would drink if you had my life, too."

Gumimi then leaned inward and took Rokiki by the shoulders, and then kissed the stunned soldier. Rokiki pushed him back against the desk as soon as he realized what was happening.

"What the hell do you take me for!?" Rokiki barked, forgetting any difference of rank at that moment and instead trying to let what had just happened sink in.

Gumimi bent his head down, "I-I guess I was mistaken, then… I'm sorry… Don't tell anyone about this… Please…. I… I just get out of my head every now and again… If… If there's some way you could just… Keep this quiet, and between us…"

Gumimi looked about ready to cry—Rokiki was wondering if he actually was a bit drunk.

Rokiki sighed and looked away, "I don't want money from you."

"What… What is it you'd like, then?"

"To stay away from me forever once I'm gone from here," Rokiki answered. "Murder only outweighs adultery in my culture. I won't be any part of it."

"…There's got to be exceptions to every rule…"

"…Permission to speak freely, Sir."

"Granted."

"…If you're so miserable, then leave," Rokiki then turned around and walked out the door without another word.

"I need to get some fresh air," Chunini stood up from the table quietly and exited the room.

"….I better, too," Lupapa answered, moments after Chunini disappeared.

"…You know, if it's one thing I don't understand, it's how when one woman gets up from the table, all of the others leave, too…." Mahihi said with wonder, and Fujuju and Romama simply shook their heads.

Chunini sat outside of the restaurant, on the curb of the street. She looked around, and she didn't see her Keron anymore. And her mind was wandering… So many things were suddenly making sense to her, she was starting to feel ill.

"…You hated me…. Because you saw so much of yourself in me… And you hated it…" she whispered to herself, and looked down, her eyes shutting tight.

Chunini looked up at the poster, and back to the music sheets. She'd seen the poster outside of the club a week before, and couldn't believe it. Eriri had gone and become famous. Well, famous around the city, anyway… And they were holding auditions at the nightclub she worked at. Chunini had worked harder than ever, carefully taking precautions to make sure she didn't strain her voice in the process.

There weren't as many singers as she'd hoped, but it still made her nervous. She had never sang in front of a group as large as this… And, among them, her back turned to her, Eriri… Chunini gulped hard—She would do more than her best here.

Each of the performers went… A few other singers, a comedian (who was almost immediately heckled off), and one creepy ventriloquist. And then it was her turn. The otherwise bored Eriri perked up immediately, and sat up straight in her chair.

"You found me!" she laughed happily, and bolted from her chair. She hurried up the steps of the stage, and looked to the club owner, "I want to make this a duet with her, all right?"

He shrugged, "You're the one they come to see. Your call."

"Er-Eriri! Do… Do you think I'm good enough?!" Chunini stuttered.

"Sure," Eriri nodded, and disappeared for a moment in search of something. She appeared again with sheet music. "You know this one?"

"Y-Yes," Chunini nodded, although silently cursed herself. This wasn't one of the ones she'd practiced! But the piano started, and so did they. And by the end, the crowd's attention was all on them, stunned silence.

"You did great, kid! We make a great team, you know that?" Eriri laughed, and Chunini flushed at the praise from the singer she so admired.

And in the present, Chunini smiled solemnly at her remembrance of Eriri… Swiftly after this was the remembrance of her father finding out about Eriri… He'd seemed so angry that night… Maybe it was the same night that that had happened?

"Oh, Dad…." she shook her head quietly.

"Chunini?" she turned her head and was snapped out of her dreaming by Lupapa's voice. "Everything okay?"

"Haha, why wouldn't they be, Lupa-chan?" Chunini waved her off and jumped up from her place on the curb.

"…You're sure you're okay?"

"Of course!" Chunini answered, and placed a hand on her forehead. "It's just all of this remembering is making me dizzy a bit!"

Lupapa nodded. She knew there was more to this, but was afraid to venture. Chunini, for once, looked different from the proud Keronian woman Lupapa usually knew. She looked shaken greatly by something. While Lupapa had an idea of what this was… She didn't ask. She didn't need to, and didn't really want to.

"Come on, Mahihi's eyeing the cheesecake."

"I'll break his thumbs if he touches it," Chunini said with a bright smile.

"Good to see you made a quick recovery," Lupapa laughed, and they made their way back into the room. "All right, so where were we?"

"Well, I think maybe leave off from where you left us off at, Lupapa-chan," Mahihi suggested. He went to reach for the cheesecake, but was stunned as Chunini stabbed a fork into the table, just in front of his fingers. He then pulled over a slice of chocolate cake instead without another word.

"…I got older, and I got better as I did," Lupapa answered. "There was a lot of trial and error, but before I knew it, I had graduated from jewelry shops, to pawn shops… To museums, eventually."

"And people don't long without noticing things like that…" Romama concluded, and Lupapa gave a nod.

"Well, what did all of your siblings think of it?" Fujuju inquired.

"I never told them," Lupapa answered. "But just like my parents never told me what they did…. They were able to figure it out…."

"Ugh…" Lupapa grunted and rolled into the apartment window, clutching her side. A hit from a guard… She hadn't anticipated this. She pulled up her vest, and flinched at the sight of the wound. But what she held in her other hand made it all worth it… Gifts for her siblings, and money to pay for more to come.

"Sis? Is that you?" a figure stirred in the large bed, and Lupapa's eyes went wide. She hadn't expected anyone awake.

"Hiyoyo?" she knew his voice from the cough that followed it. Hiyoyo was the next-to-last child born, and the most sickly of them all. This money would also help to pay for his medical bills. "What are you doing up?"  
"Doruru wanted me to read her a story, so I did… Let me turn on a light for us."

"No, don't," Lupapa snapped, and sighed. "…Is Doruru in here, too?"

"Yeah, but she's out like a light," another long cough from him. "Are you okay? You don't sound so good, yourself."

"I'm fine. Just fine," she answered, but staggered as she stood up. She attempted to make herself look as normal as possible, but with every "normal" step, pain shot throughout her body. "Is anyone else up?"

"I think most of us… There was a special on the TV, so Kazeze let us stay up late," he replied. Lupapa cursed to herself. Maybe she could get to the bathroom without being seen, and clean up her wound there… It might need stitching, too… The thought of this made her shiver. "Are you sure you don't need me to get you anything?"

"I'm all right, don't worry about me. You just rest, all right?" even through the pain, she dug into the bag at her side and pulled out two items. "Here, I bought you a new book, all about flowers. And there's a new doll for Doruru when she wakes up… Put it next to her on the pillow, all right? She'll like that."

"Sure, Sis. And thanks," she could tell he was smiling through the dark, and she continued on.

She'd moved them to a better home… An actual house. It was hard to leave the apartment that they'd grown up in, so she'd kept this, as well. It now served as her storage facility for goods she couldn't sell right away.  
Their main home was a three-story house… Not a dome-shaped like one in the suburbs, but a box-shaped home. Enough room for everyone, and even a back yard for the youngest children to play in. It was everything she had always wanted for everyone.

She struggled down the hall, and collapsed in the bathroom. She remained there, and was now able to get a good look at the wound. She lifted up her vest again, and rolled her eyes.

"Lupapa?" another voice, another sibling. Amomo's gentle voice. "Are you all right? There's blood all in the hall way, what's wrong?" the sound of the doorknob turning, and Amomo stepped in, still wiping her hands on her apron. She gasped as soon as she saw her older sister on the ground, clutching her wound. "You—You need a doctor!"

"No, no I'm fine…"

"I'm going to get Kazeze!"

"N-No, don't! Please, just… Just let me relax…" she panted, and laid her head back against the tub. She opened her eyes again, and there was someone else in the bathroom now, too. The silent Suzuzu, looking out from beneath his smock to her, his mouth invisible, but his eyes tired and knowing. He bent down on the other side of Lupapa, and looked over the wound.

"…Amomo… Get the first aide kit, and a towel," he instructed.

"Right," she stood and hurried away, returning quickly with both.

This movement attracted the attention of Chishishi, the wild child of the group. He'd been in the kitchen, working on a new concoction to eat, food from the fridge spread out all over the counter. He looked up from the bowl and was directed to the yelp, which sounded as though it had originated from upstairs.

"What are you destroying now?" Kazeze, the third-oldest, with a permanent serious expression on her face, looked at the meal in disgust.

"It's a new creation… I'm not sure what's all in it, but I'll bet it's great!" he answered, a hopeful, toothy grin. He took a bite, and realized otherwise, immediately gagging on it.

"You made it, you eat it. And clean all of this up, too!"

"W-What!? That's not fair!" he shouted. Kazeze gave no answer to this, only went to the direction of the noise. She, too, had heard it, and had a better idea of what was going on.

Ikiki, the little red Keronian, and the fifth child, was standing outside of the door, curious about what was going on but not daring to open it.

Kazeze heard another yell, and flinched. Lupapa's yell…. Then came Amomo's calming voice, begging her sister to relax.

"Come on…" Kazeze took Ikiki by the hand and sighed. "Chishishi made a mess of everything, so I need you to help me…"

"Why am I being punished for what that idiot did?" he asked with a sigh.

"Because he'll make a bigger mess if we leave him on his own too much…."

"…Yeah, you're right," Ikiki rolled his eyes, and followed her down the stairs. "Let's go…"

When Lupapa woke up, she was in her own bed. She sat up, and saw her vest hanging up on the back of her door—Freshly fixed and sewn, thanks to Amomo, no doubt. And her wound, also sewn, was freshly packed, thanks to Suzuzu.

And she turned her head, and faced the glare of Kazeze, who stood there, her arms folded.

"Don't think I don't know what's going on here…"

Lupapa sighed and laid back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling, "You should be in school today, Kazeze."

"I'm not going back," Kazeze answered. "I'm going to get a job. Suzuzu will get one, too, and Amomo's been wanting one for a while. It should be enough to make a living."

"…What? No! Mom and Dad left me in charge, and I told you—"

"Mom and Dad are dead. And even if they were alive, they would be pissed to see you like this! They would never forgive you!"

"Kazeze!"

"What? You're a thief, we all know it! You're the one who's been on the news. Even Doruru's figured it out, and she's got an imaginary best friend! Do you know if you get caught, they'll separate all of us?! And you'll go to jail forever, Lupapa!"

"I won't get caught, then," Lupapa stood up uneasily, and looked over Kazeze once more. "…I won't leave, Kazeze."

"Mom and Dad thought they were coming back, too," Kazeze muttered. Lupapa flinched, and her younger sister turned to her, "…It's not worth you getting hurt like that every day… What if you get hurt even worse?"

Lupapa gave a small smile; she fought with Kazeze the most, but she was still afraid for her sister. It was evident. Lupapa uneasily raised her arm, and embraced Kazeze around the shoulders.

"….I'll be all right. I promise," she reassured her worried sister.

"…Promise you'll stop soon, Lupapa… I'll be all right, not matter what, but… Everyone else, they wouldn't be able to take it…"

"…I… I'll see what I can do… Just keep taking care of everyone while I figure out something, all right?"

"..Yeah," Kazeze nodded.

"…I should have listened to her," Lupapa said with a shake of the head. "I… I said I would look, but the truth was, the money was too good to stop… A month later… It was all over… And I was separated from them, just like Kazeze said I would be…"

"That was the night of that fire," Mahihi said through a bite of his chocolate cake.

"I remember that," Romama's eyes flew open. "My family had to go to a hotel for a few days after that, most of the roads to our house were blocked off…" Fujuju took a hard swallow of his cake, and averted his eyes.

"That… That bloody fire…" he muttered beneath his breath. "That's... What landed me in the asylum the first time..."


	6. Part 6

I feel this is a little short. Forgive me if it is, please T.T Next installment will be longer, I just stopped this at a good part, I thought. My bad ^^;;

Part VI

"Okay, dude, so… I'm confused by something… I… I don't know how to put this, but you sound like you could've become a serial killer easy," Mahihi admitted to Fujuju. "We all sorta thought that… Well, you were…." Fujuju clamped on his teacup a bit more tightly, but kept his smile on his face.

"Was I…. Really that off-putting, my presence?" asked Fujuju. Mahihi and Romama looked at one another, but dared not say a thing. "….Well. I see…. By the time that that fire happened, I'd already nearly been committed… From when I tried to blow up the chemistry lab. I was taken to the countryside for a little while, and brought back to the labs… The term "countryside" I use lightly, because it was already practically one of those places, just without the name… They couldn't keep me there forever, because that would show that the whole idea of scientists had been a poor one… I'll tell you now that there were people much more deserving of staying in such a place than me, I was just the only one who was a danger to more than myself."

"How'd you manage not to get like that, though?" Mahihi wondered. "Where you like, totally lost it?"

"Who's to say that I didn't at one point or another?... Well, I found ways here and there to keep my spirits up… During that visit with my parents in the dead of night, my Mum whispered me to remain positive no matter what we went through, because we would always be together in spirit, and one day, we would all be together once again…. I tried to keep my happiness in small amounts, but I think that that's what kept me sane… Even when everyone else thought that I was a madman…. I was brought back to the asylum after the night of the great fire. And at that time, it was becoming more clear to the rest of the world that they might have made a very large problem for themselves in raising children to be machines."

"That has got to be the damnedest thing I've ever seen…" one guard said to the other, shaking his head in disbelief. They jumped as the director, a Keronian man with small glasses and a white coat, walked in, a folder underneath his arm. At his side, one of the scientists, in full mask regalia.

"He was sent to check on one of their own—Another scientist. You're familiar with him, the one who tried to burn down the city about a few months ago…" and the director looked out ahead, and saw the rest of the patients gathered in a circle. There was a plate of cookies going around, and they were laughing. He approached, the scientist beside him, and they got a better look at what was going on now.

A skipping game. The looney bastards had drawn lines in chalk on the ground, and were taking turns skipping through it, like small children. The director had to save his glasses when they fell off of his face. He quickly bent down and lifted them back up, and Fujuju, who had just finished his turn, noticed the scientist. He stepped through the crowd to the scientists, and a smiled widely at the scientist.

"AH! You're back to get me! I'm so glad! Nowwwwww I was just wondering if my friend here could come, too…" he held his hand around what was solid air. He then lifted up his arms, gave another yell, and hurried away from the scientist, screaming like a madman.

The scientist left without a word. The director followed out, still stunned by what he'd seen.

And Fujuju's smile fell as he saw them vanish, the director hurrying behind the scientist, right at his heels, apologizing profusely. Fujuju shook his head and walked over to the barred window, and took a seat next to it, leaning his head against the glass and bar; he could see them rebuilding the town from even here. And some times ash would still carry over and land on the building. If it had snowed on Keron, if he had known about snow at the time, he would've compared the two. Many of the once-white houses were now a dull and dirty gray color.

Fujuju didn't mind the change of outfit, the bulky scientist's getup for an orange smock (with his name and number hand written on the back) as long as it meant he got to look out the windows as much as he wanted. Pretending to have an imaginary friend was a hell of a way to get a vacation, though.

One of the men wandered over to him, a plate of cookies in hand, "…You're not really supposed to be here, you know."

"Huh?" Fujuju lifted his head, and looked to the man. A Keronian a few cell blocks down from him… He wasn't sure of his name, but every full moon he'd go insane with howling that would keep the entire ward up. Otherwise, he seemed fairly normal.

"You're not insane," he replied. "They just bring it out in his you is all."

"I burnt down half of the city."

"Anyone who lived with them would've done the same. This place is a nightmare. It needed it. Everyone wanted to do it. You're just the first one to actually do it… Don't you get it? You're here because you're the sane one," he finished in a whisper that shook Fujuju. "…Don't let them get to you… You don't belong here… I've watched you… And I've been here for years. And I know real crazy when I see it. Johihi talks to his oatmeal. He argues with it. That's real crazy."

"…You're not going to tell them, are you?"

"That you're not crazy? They won't believe me. I'm real crazy, remember?" he laughed. "…Even if you end up here again, or a million times, you need to stay out of here as much as possible. It'll make you go insane, you know."

"…Right…" Fujuju nodded, and watched the man walk off. But not before he turned around once.

"Good cookies! All of the guys like them!" he called out, and went back to the rest of the group, leaving Fujuju to ponder what he had just been told.  
"…Look for a way out…" he muttered, glancing out at the sunny gray cityscape once more. Some of it was already being rebuilt, he could see, and now it was looking better.

"You know you go back to your old accent when you talk about back then?" Mahihi realized with a laugh.

"Do I really now? That's peculiar, I didn't even notice…. And so when I did manage to get out, I signed up to the exploration to Pekopon… My entire life I'd never taken a risk like that; and I really didn't think I would get the position, but it paid off! They were glad to be rid of me, I think," Fujuju said with a light chuckle.

"…They… They knowingly put you with us, and you'd just gotten out of the pysch ward?" Romama muttered.

"…Why am I starting to think they wanted us to crash and disappear?" Chunini muttered.

"I remember hearing about the mission for the first time… Man, that's a going back, too," Mahihi smiled, "Roki was excited about it… It was the chance he'd been looking for… He'd risen in the ranks, yeah, but… It still wasn't enough for him. He needed something big, really big, to finally get the approval of everyone… If that theory of yours, Chu-chan, that they just wanted to get rid of us, has any truth to it, then we just walked into a plan of theirs. It would've looked great to have someone like him lead the mission, only to have it be a total flop…. And if it was a hit, well… Hey, he was the pride of the nation. The last of his kind, overcoming so much and leading a successful mission. Woulda been win-win for them… Damn, we really, really fell for it, didn't we?"

"…If I was their PR, I would've gone with Ro-kun, too. Morale was so low then, everyone just eats up those feel good stories when times are that bad!" Chunini laughed, and her smile fell at the sight of the peculiar looks she was being given. "What? I'm in show business; you learn these things. Being artistic is only the tip of the iceberg, you know!"

"They must've changed their tune when they caught sight of you, though," Lupapa glanced to Romama. "…You gave them an even better story…."

"…I never wanted to take it from him," Romama said quietly, looking down at the table. All of the other eyes fell on him, and for the first time he actually came off as more a child than a young adult. The teal Keronian looked up in surprise as he felt a hand on his shoulder; it was Fujuju, who merely gave a smile to the boy.

"…I think all of us got played, so don't you go feeling bad about that," Mahihi reassured him. "Whether it was for better or worse, we were just puppets to them in the end of it."

Romama still looked up to Mahihi, "…I still cheated, and… It's about time everyone knew about it. It was my idea, Koda-chan went along with it because… Because she wanted to make me happy…"

"As much pressure as they put on you, I would've done it, too," Mahihi replied. "We heard about you, kid. Everyone knew about you… And you know what they say, the higher up you are, the harder you fall when you come down. You just didn't want to come down. It's the kid in you. It's no different than when my kids lie about doing their homework; they don't want to disappoint anyone, especially Mom and Dad."

"And my Nee-chan, either," Romama added. "…My parents traveled a lot because of work. She was the one who looked after me, her and her husband. He was in the army, though, so he was away a lot, just like my parents were… So, most of the time it was just me, Nee-chan, and my nephew…."

Romama threw his books aside with a frustrated grunt and rushed up the stairs, slamming the door behind him. The baby started bawling, and Rokeke gave a small sigh, and walked toward the stairwell to see what was the matter.

It had been only a few months since Romama had been taken out of regular classes and sent to military academy. He'd been seen on the school yard, possessing excellent physical strength. They searched the schools for exceptional children like him, now, whether it be for the military or scientist ranks. In all actuality, he'd been hoping for a chance like this, and had been planning to sign up for classes. The military, for one reason or another, held a great deal of appeal to him, even if it meant sacrificing his own childhood. Another one of his friends actually joined the military by her own will, and had been chosen for the piloting program not too long afterwards.

His sister picked up a test that had fallen out from between the cracks of his schoolbooks, and glanced it over. Passing, but just barely. Like most of his tests now. When it came to bookwork, he could barely keep up to the other children. Only his psychical ability had allowed him to pass up the ranks of real officers as quickly as he had, although she and Romama both knew that if his test scores were half as good as his scores in physical fitness categories, he would have graduated by now.

"Romama?" he heard a knock on the door, and looked up from his desk that he'd been laying his head on until then. He scrambled to make himself look busy with schoolwork as she entered. The baby's crying now subsided, and he remained there, quiet in her arms. She placed a hand on his shoulder, and grinned. "I'd like you to put that away now."

He looked up at her, puzzled, but did so. And then they were in the front yard, baby on her back, both laying with their stomachs on the concrete, drawing with chalk.

"It's fun to do things like this… You used to love it when you were little!"

"…I'm not little anymore, though…" he muttered, although he went along with the drawing all the same. She laughed and sat up, her legs folded.

"You're still really little, and you shouldn't worry yourself too much about things! No one's pressuring you to do anything! We're all proud of you already! A Sergeant Major, that's impressive!"

"…It doesn't matter… I just want to do the best, is all," he muttered, and she gave another laugh.

"No one's the best at everything!" she reminded him. "That's a great monster you drew!"

"…It's Mom…." Romama answered, and Rokeke's mouth twitched.

"Oh. Well, not everyone's good at drawing, either. Everyone's got some art they're good at, even if we don't know it right away! I'm good at the art of being a mother! You'll find your art, too!"

He only sighed, unsure about this. She stood and reached into her apron, pulling out a small change purse.

"Maybe your art is in being a good friend! Why don't you do out with your one little friend tonight, to a movie?" she suggested.

"Friend?"

"Sure, the one with the scary father!"

"O-Oh… Koda… Yeah…" he blushed and looked away, and Rokeke's eyes went wide, and she gave an excited yell, clasping onto his hands.

"She's your girlfriend!? Why didn't you tell me this!? You have a girlfriend now?! No wonder you're wanting to do well, you're wanting to impress her! That's so CUTE!" she exclaimed.

"Ro-Rokeke!" he yelped, his face now bright red. She cleared her throat, her baby having started crying again, and straightened her apron.

"Y-You have a good time!" she giggled. "I won't wait up!"

"ROKEKE!"

"All right, all right! Go on, I have to write Mom and Dad about this!" she giggled, and rushed into the house.

"What about this? Don't you want it back?" he asked, holding out her change purse.

"Just give me back what you don't use! My little brother has a girlfriend! AHH!" she yelled excitedly, and the door shut. Romama gave a sigh, and tucked away the change purse… He'd thought the sudden switch to a bandanna with a symbol different than his own family's had been enough of a hint… Sometimes his sister was slow to the take, though. He gave another sigh, shook his head, and went towards his designated meeting spot with his girlfriend.

Later that evening, after a movie, he sat opposite of Kodada in a diner, a bit apprehensive, and her the same.

"So… How did you test go today?" she asked with a nervous giggle.

"All right, I guess. How about your flying practice?"

"Could've been better… Being able to do things is so much more important than the bookwork, no wonder your rank's so much higher than mine, still!"

"I-I'm sorry, Koda…"

"No, it's fine! I wouldn't want to be that high a rank, anyhow! …I just wish I wouldn't get so nervous when it came to flying for real…"

"Maybe my dad could help you, he taught me how to fly, after all…"

"It's not that…" she sighed. "I know how to fly, it's just… When I'm there, with the instructors, I get so nervous…" she tapped her fingers on the table and sighed. "I've tried all sorts of ways to relax, but nothing works…"  
"And with what's going on at home, too…" Romama muttered, and Kodada flinched. "Hrm? Did something happen?"

"Other than with my sister, no, not really," she answered, although he could see she was still hiding something… There had to be reason for it…

"I just wish…" Kodada continued with a sigh. "I wish there was some reason for us to switch, just long enough so that you could get a good grade on your exam and I could pass my last piloting exam…"

Romama gulped, and looked in an old, cracked mirror on one of the walls of the place… They were about the same height… And they both had the same yellow eyes… Well, not the same, but with a little makeup, and if Kodada frowned…

"K-Koda… I have an idea, I think…" he said to her. "It's… Kinda nuts, but it might work…"

"Truth is… Yeah, I would've been upset if I hadn't passed, but I would've been more upset if Kodada-chan's dreams hadn't come true," Romama admitted with a sigh.

"So you did it for her sister, is what you're saying," Lupapa concluded, glancing to Chunini.

"Koda-chan always lacked the self-confidence in the family…" Chunini sighed.

"Yeah, you hogged it all," Lupapa snorted.

"Well… I suppose I can't argue with you on that, surprisingly," Chunini muttered. "I went on singing… Until my father found out. At that time I renounced being his daughter, and I tossed his own symbol back at him… Now, everyone needs a symbol, they're like our last names… So I ended up taking Eriri's."

"Not to say last names wouldn't be a bad thing… There was another Mahihi who lived a few streets down from me… Dude was a player, so I ended up getting most of his exes' hate mail," Mahihi laughed, and took a sip of his drink. "And I actually got my mailbox destroyed for the same freakin' reason! Man… It was times like that my Ma would turn to Pop and say "I knew we should've named him after my father!" Yeesh…"

"Did you ever date much while you were on Keron? I never really saw you with anyone…" Lupapa glanced to Mahihi, and his gave a bashful smirk, of all things.

"Nah… I wasn't really into things like that, although I never really could place why… Go figure it was because I wasn't even into my own species," he chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Actually, I think my parents were a little afraid that Roki and I—"

"D-Don't," Fujuju held up his hand. "I don't want to think about that too much."

"What, destroy the pairing Ro-kun's already a part of, and the most popular pairing in my series?" Chunini snorted beneath her breath. "…Seems as though Juu-kun's not that doujin-savvy…"

Fujuju looked to her, "What was that?"

"Oh! Nothing! Just a little side-hobby of mine. I like drawing comics when I can find the time," Chunini waved him off at this. "A little nerdy, I know, but it's good for a laugh.

"Well, comics are literature! What name do you use for it?" Fujuju asked cheerfully.

"…Chu Sim Young," Chunini answered, and out of all people, Lupapa spat out her drink.

"That's YOU?!" Lupapa coughed.

"Lupa-chan reads comics?" Chunini smiled wickly. "…I had no idea you were a fan…."

"J-Just to pick up the modern Keron language! It's how I picked up Portuguese!" Lupapa snapped, her face red now.

"Oh! You're familiar! What are they about, then, if I might ask?" Fujuju asked.

"Nothing!" Lupapa and Chunini said in unison, and Fujuju flinched.  
Chunini went back to her story now, composure regained, "We had such a great time… And then I got wind of how my little sister had joined the military…."

"Wow! That… You nearly got me dead-on!" Eriri laughed. She sat in the living room, awestruck, as Chunini showed her her latest impersonations. Nearly every one was a perfect match, both male and female voices. Eriri's apartment was a small but fashionable one; signs of Chunini's living there were already evident. "Hey….What's wrong?"

Chunini's smile fell, and she took a seat down beside Eriri, "Eriri… I… I did something you're going to hate me for, I just know it…"

"Huh? Well, hey, long as it doesn't hurt anyone, I can't see how I could be mad at you, Chu!"

Chunini smiled a bit, and glanced up at her. She loved when Eriri called her Chu.

"I… I sort of…" she finished off in a mumble.

"What's that?"

"I…" Chunini shut her eyes. "I quit my job at the club and I joined the military! I'm leaving for training tomorrow!"

Eriri was quiet for a long, long while, "…You did what…? Chunini! What the heck got into you?! They eat people like us alive there! You might even see your father there! What's to say you won't… Chunini! What did you do?!"

"I-I know! I know! But… Eriri, my little sister joined, too."

"Then cheer her on from over here!"

Chunini gulped a bit, "I can't have her hurt… I'll be able to protect her from our father."

"You can do that without getting yourself killed! Chu… You've been happy for the first time ever since you moved in with me here, you said it yourself."

"I know, but… It's not just about me," Chunini closed her eyes tightly. "I have to go. Tonight. I'm sorry, Eriri… Please forgive me…"

"And I did," Chunini sighed. "I joined the military, but, thankfully, I never saw my father while I was there, and I was able to meet up with Kodada-chan."

"I knew there had to be a good reason you'd join something with authority," Lupapa snorted.

Chunini only shrugged this off, although there was a question that bothered her… Her father was in charge of new recruits… Why hadn't he seen her? It was about this time her phone went off, and she stared at the number, puzzled. She stood without a word, and exited the restaurant.  
And outside was Kodada was outside of the restaurant, her cell phone still in hand. She was in her Keronian form, and embraced her sister as soon as Chunini put her phone away.

"Nee-chan! I'm so happy to see you!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

"Koda-chan! What are you doing here?!"

"I… I heard about the exhibit, and I couldn't stay away… I asked around, and someone mentioned seeing someone who looked like you in this restaurant…. I knew that I'd find you here, I just knew it!" Kodada giggled happily. "Is everyone in there?"

"Everyone save for Ro-kun," Chunini nodded. "Did you want to come in for a little bit? We're filming in the restaurant, actually! Everyone thought it might be a good idea if we were able to get the story for everyone else straight, for the history books for once and all, so we're telling our story, and then Juu-kun's spawn is going to work with it!"

Kodada gave a nervous look at this, and glanced at the restaurant doors, "Are you sure that's a good idea, Nee-chan? Sometimes… Things are better left hidden."

"There's nothing wrong with what you did, Koda-chan! You should hear about everyone else!" Chunini giggled, but she could read her sister's solemn expression, and her own smile fell.

"…Let's sit outside for a little bit," Chunini suggested, and took a seat on the step of the restaurant. "How's your boyfriend doing?"

"Great!" Kodada answered. "I… Think I'm getting the courage up to tell him a little more, now…. About me. I want him to now about you, and our family, and everything!"

"Koda-chan…. We're at the part where… I joined the military, and… I just realized something…" Chunini's voice was serious and even, and she looked forward as she spoke, towards the setting sun. "…When I joined, he must have known. He was in charge of new recruits… But I didn't see him. Not once. Why is that, Koda-chan? ….Koda-chan?..."

"…Because I made it so he wouldn't…." Kodada said quietly.

"What? Koda-chan? What did you…?"

"I'd do anything to protect you, Nee-chan, even if it was from him…." She answered, her eyes now misting over a bit. "And… I found my chance to, finally…."

"….What happened?"

Kodada took in a sharp breath, and then began her story…


	7. Part 7

Last part, woo! Sorry this took so very, very long to come out, everyone. I won't lie, there was a good deal of working and reworking to get it just right. Entire pages died so that this final version may live XD Anyway, hope you like, and here's the conclusion!

"…I heard you were joining the military… I was excited, but… I was scared for you, at the same time," Kodada shut her eyes tightly. "….With how Dad was… When he found out, he… He thought it could be a way to get back to you… So I went to go find him at his work, away from Mama… To try to talk to him, to make it so he wouldn't be mean to you, like I knew he would be."  
She was quiet now, and Chunini sighed, "…You found out about his hobby, didn't you?"

Kodada shot her head in her big sister's direction, stunned, and then gave a solemn nod, "…Yes…"

The lower-level soldier stuttered an apology, and then rushed out, well-past the stunned Kodada, and he looked back at Gumimi once more before scurrying away. Gumimi's expression was difficult to gauge… Embarrassment from having his secret found out by his daughter… Anger at her even showing up at this late hour… His frantic confusion as to where to go from here…

"…You… You're just like Sis, and you… You disowned her for it…?" Kodada stuttered. Gumimi flinched, and began to put away his alcohol without a single word, whisking it away into his desk drawer. "…You disowned her because of that, didn't you?" she gulped dryly.

"Don't you have a test to study for?" he asked, his eyes on the desk and not moving. "What are you doing here, anyway?! I thought I told you and that mother of yours not to bother me at my office, no matter what!"

"DIDN'T YOU?!" she shrieked, in a tone that surprised even her. It made the glass rattle when she did, and Gumimi looked up, stunned. He stormed over from behind his desk and raised a hand, and she yelped and flinched, anticipating a blow. His hand stopped right above her head, and he began to shake. He fell to his knees and embraced the confused Kodada.

"Please don't tell anything to anyone. Please," he whispered to her hoarsely. Kodada was still stunned; was her father actually crying? Was he actually upset, or was this just a ploy?

Her eyes went wide, and she took a step back from him, removing his arms from around her. She knew what to do now, it was clear, "I won't tell… But only if you promise you won't hurt my sister anymore."

"W-What? Are you—Are you threatening me?" he stuttered. Kodada nodded slightly, her fists clenching, and trying not to shake. "You… You're threatening… Me?"

"I-I-I love her, even if you d-don't!" she gulped, trying to keep her composure. "A-And you'll just hurt her! So… So I want you to promise that nothing will happen to her!"

Gumimi watched, stunned, as if it had finally dawned on him—He'd officially lost his control on his family. He was now at the mercy of the youngest, and stood there, trying her best to look strong. She was strong, though, even if she didn't realize it. His fate was in her hands.

There was no use in trying. He hung his head and nodded, "I….I promise…"

"Good," Kodada gave a firm nod, and then shakily felt behind her for the doorknob. She stepped backwards out the door, and walked out of her father's office, leaving him there on his knees.

She kept off the urge to black out until she'd made it off the military base. Then she allowed her knees to fall out from beneath her as she stood on the freshly-rained concrete by herself in the nighttime, and she felt it through the opening in the gloves she wore—She'd actually just done what many had wanted to do. She'd stood up to her father, and bested him.

"Wow…." was all she could mutter beneath her breath.

"Koda-chan…." Chunini muttered, stunned. "You did that… For me?"

"Sure! You… You're my Nee-chan," Kodada answered with a smile.

"You… You're a good kid, you know that, Koda-chan?" Chunini laughed, and wiped the few tears from her face. She usually wasn't one moved to such emotion, but…. When it was her sister, it was different. She was also laughing as she said this, and embraced Kodada.

"You better get back inside, Nee-chan, before they miss you!" Kodada exclaimed, breaking out of her hug with her sister.

"Well, you're sure you don't want to come in, Koda-chan? Not even for a little visit? They would love to see you, I bet," Chunini asked. But she already knew the answer.

Kodada only gave a small smile and reached out, grabbing her sister's hands and giving them a small squeeze, "It's easier for me this way, Nee-chan…. It's… Just a little hard, right now, still…"

Chunini nodded, understanding. She would have to, "Take care, Koda-chan!"

"I well, Nee-chan. Say hello to Lee-san for me, all right?"

Chunini tilted her head to a side, and grinned, "I will, don't worry. She'll be happy to hear from you! She likes you, too!"

"She likes Nee-chan, more, though, and takes care of her. Knowing that helps ease my mind so much!" Kodada said cheerfully through tears of her own. "I should go, now."

"Hey, Koda-chan…. Do you… Ever wonder what happened to them? To Mom and Dad?"

Kodada thought for a moment, "Well… Sometimes, yeah. But I like to think that they both moved on, and that they had good lives, both Mom and Dad!"  
Chunini smiled in return, "Still too nice for your own good. Call me whenever you get a spare moment for your old big sister, all right?"

"You know I will!" Kodada answered, and waved off her sister. And then she was gone from down the street, leaving Chunini alone outside of the restaurant. The singer shook her head, wiped her eyes, and walked back into the restaurant, resuming her spot seated with the others.

"…So I guess we're to the point of where we all met one another," Mahihi laughed. "Roki found out he was off, and then we was on again—"

"-We'd just broken up in between all of that," Lupapa added.

"And he'd gone a little nuts because of all of it… Had a bar fight, had that… One girlfriend for about a week… Good times," Mahihi muttered. His eyes went wide as soon as he spoke these words, and her could feel Lupapa's eyes upon him. "I-It was just a rebound, Lupe. He was still nuts about you, but the guy wasn't made out of stone. Plus he had a lot of kill time…"

"That's definitely something I could have gone five lifetimes without knowing," Chunini said in disgust through shut eyes.

"Indeed I'll have to agree to that…" Fujuju muttered.

"Like I said, it was a long time ago…" Mahihi said with a frustrated sigh, and just as quickly attempted to change the subject. "I wonder sometimes if we would've been a good team, if things had been a little different, you know…?"

"Probably not," Chunini answered with a smile. "We probably would've driven each other insane. We were together, what, two weeks before we went into deep freeze?"

"The most tense two weeks of my life," Lupapa muttered. "And if I'd known about certain things it probably would've been even more tense."

"I stayed in my quarters studying, for the most part," Fujuju admitted, a bit embarrassed. "I didn't really know any of you…. I suppose I was odd man out…."

"Well, we knew one another, but who would've thought?" Mahihi laughed. "So I guess, aside from those two weeks, that's our story, huh? I went from the hotheaded son of a baker, not really giving a care about anyone but myself, to a dad with a mess of kids."

"I think I'm the same," Chunini admitted with a shrug. "I was a singer then, I'm a singer now. A lot more people just listen to me now, is all."

"Not to feed your ego, Chu-chan, but you went from singing in bars to being a universe-famous pop singer," Mahihi corrected her.

"It's still the same feeling when I'm on stage. I just get paid a little more now, is all," Chunini replied. She then looked to Lupapa and smiled, "Lupa-chan's changed quite a bit… Well, in terms of her men, hehe…."

"D-Don't make me sound like that!" Lupapa snapped. "Do you know how that comes off as?!"

"Eh, Dororo-kun is a good fit for ya, Lupie," Mahihi replied. "Rokiki was in a weird place when you met him… You helped him as much as you could."

"It's probably a good thing they get along so well. You look like you've been gaining weight, recently, Lupa-chan," Chunini giggled.

Lupapa's face went bright red, "What are you suggesting, exactly!?"

"Just that if it's a girl, I want it named after me. At least the first syllable. The second I don't care, no one ever does."

"There's no baby! Why do you always think that!?"

"Well, I can't help it, when Lupa-chan insists upon eating like it's for two," Chunini said with a sly smirk. "Or maybe… Even… Three?"

"G-Girls, girls! We've had a good day, let's not mess it up. Fujuju's the only one who got his girlfriend pregnant, anyway!"

Fujuju rolled his eyes, "Lord, we… We're engaged, just peculiar on the proceedings…."

"Peculiar's a good word for it, all right. This change in the family structure…" Chunini shook her head, and Lupapa shot her head over to her immediately. "I feel some times I'm one of the only ones who lives traditionally, anymore."

"… Really? Really? You're the one to make a comment about that?"

"I'm incredibly traditional in most aspects, Lupa-chan."

"Quit with the "Lupa-chan"!"

"I feel like the most mature one here, sometimes," Romama said with a sigh. "I wonder if Rokiki knows about this… About the museum?"

"Knowing him, he's probably in the middle of the woods somewhere, finding himself," Mahihi said with a fond smile. "You worried about him, kid?"

"….Well… I guess part of me always felt a little responsible for what happened to him…." Romama admitted, bowing his head.

Mahihi nodded, "He was already messed up, kid. You heard what it was like growing up for him, you don't walk away from something like that totally unscathed. Hopefully… Wherever he's at now, he's getting the help he needs…"

"And maybe he won't come back smelling like a bar!" Chunini added in a biting hopefulness.

"So I guess we give this to Fujuju's daughter, now… Everything that needs to be said and even a little more has been," Lupapa asked.

"You know nothing of story structure, Lupapa-chan… I would think that my readers would be on a higher level than this, too…" Chunini shook her head. "We should at least give updates on what we're doing now!"

"…You're right. We would have killed one another if we'd been together in a real team," Lupapa grumbled. "Fine. I'll go first…"

And so she did, telling her own story about after the crash, and her landing in Brazil. Next went Chunini, who told not only her own (inflated) version of her success story, but of Kodada's, as well. Lupapa had the sinking feeling that part of the reason Chunini had even suggested an ending this way was to gloat at her own achievements, of which she named many, if not all.

After this was Mahihi, telling the story about his wife and children, as well as Rokiki's own tale. Then came Fujuju, who, squirming in his seat a bit while he spoke, relayed his story, including his first marriage, his upcoming second one, and his children. And finally was Romama, who, with a begrudging sigh, told of life in Russia, his falling out with his best friend, and his shaky alliance with his nephew.

"That was almost like being back in therapy," Fujuju said with a chuckle as he shut off the camera. "Well, group therapy, at the very least… Better snacks, though. All they gave us were stale biscuits, unless I cooked, that is."

"Hello?" the Keronian waitress slid open the door and bowed. "I'm very sorry to disrupt you, but we're closing now."

"I'll take care of the bill!" Chunini chirped, picking up the slip of paper from the low table.

"Well, that's nice of you, Chu-chan!" Mahihi exclaimed, surprised.

"No problem. I'll figure out who owes what and mail each of you the bill when we get back~!" Chunini answered. This was met with an unsurprised groan by the entire group.

The restaurant's doors clicked to a lock behind them, and the five in the platoon stood out on the front stairs, the memory card now out of the camera and in Fujuju's hand. He stared down at it, thinking. And there were similar expressions on the rest of the group's faces, as if they were all coming to the same conclusion.

"We… I mean, people can come to their own conclusions, right?" Romama asked, eyeing the card.

"I suppose so… What's it matter to us, anyway? We're supposed to be dead," Lupapa shrugged.

"You know, I don't think I lived half as much until I was dead to them," Mahihi said with an embarrassed laugh.

"Well, it's not like I want everyone to know some of those details, anyway… I think it was the cheesecake talking, more than anything…." Chunini added.

"It's your call," Mahihi looked to the surprised Romama. "You're the leader, here, so you tell us what to do, all right?"

"Well… As long as we know the truth, that's what matters, right?" Romama asked, and there was a general nod of agreement.

They walked off together in a group, not seeing the red Keronian just coming out of the museum. He was hardly indistinguishable from the others who walked in and out, save for the one tattoo on his arm he'd forgotten to cover when applying the red makeup. This earned him a curious look as one of the museum employees headed up the stairs to end the day, but the employee said nothing.

It was impossible, anyway, right?

And the remaining Romama platoon stopped at a bridge that crossed over a small river. Fujuju passed the memory card to Romama, and the young boy looked down into the water, and gulped. It really would make it official that there was no returning to the past, once he did this.

He let the chip slide out of his hand, and it headed to its new home with the pebbles on the bottom of the blue river.

But it just stopped short. It hung there, motionless, as did all of time. And in a white flash appeared Botan, in full Time Bender regalia, save for a larger-than-normal stomach. She reached down with a bit of struggle from the large stomach, and picked up the memory card.

There was much work to be done with this, she thought, and vanished. And time started up again, and all were puzzled as to why there was no splashing sound, as there should have been when the memory card hit the water.

In the Keron of the past, Gumimi attempted to wade through the packing boxes and hurry to the door. There'd been an aggressive knock, and he sighed heavily, half-expecting this to be the landlord coming in with the latest complaint. It'd been over a year since he'd moved out of his now ex-wife's house, but only a few months since his departure from the military. Mental exhaustion, they'd said when they let him go. He knew better, though, the true reason for his being let go. Since the disappearance of the Romama Platoon, there'd been great upsets in the military ranking, not to mention the government. He didn't think they'd expected for them to just vanish… They'd expected anything but that.

"Well, if it isn't the mayor?" he opened the door to come face-to-face with the ex-wife in question. She was devoid of her apron now, and this was exchanged for a dark blue open robe. This was one of the many changes that had happened in the government in the past year. She had finally put her education to good use.

A younger Keronian man looked up from his magazine, and, upon seeing her, his eyes widened, and he muttered some excuse to leave for another room.

"He's nice-looking," she gave, of all things, a smile. This was much different than a year ago, when she'd attacked her husband with a lamp. Gumimi couldn't help but be put off by this cheerfulness. "What's his name? Did you meet him in the military?"

"Is there some reason you're here? Did I accidentally take the good plates?" he asked wearily.

She held up a disk in hand, addressed to Gumimi and Junene, "I thought you'd like to watch it with me. I did once, already."

"…Because that's what divorced people do, have movie night…" he muttered.

"It's about the girls," she added, and he gave a stunned look, having gone silent. "…There's a note in here, too… I don't know who it's from… But it doesn't look like a native Keron writer. They have a good grasp of the language, though."

"Always have to flaunt that education whenever you get the chance, don't you?" he grumbled. When he said this, though, it didn't bother her. Things like this didn't, anymore.

"You have a disk player?"

"Right back here," he motioned to her, and followed her. He walked with a slight limp, now. Junene had given this to him after the girls vanished. He wouldn't say anything about the new mayor's finally having enough of him and roughing him up, though. It was because she also kept his secret quiet.

She put it in, and sat down on the new, still-in-plastic couch. He sat next to her, and watched as on screen there was Chunini, seated at a restaurant of some kind.

She was a singer, now. In a country called South Korea. She'd sold millions of records-not only on her planet, but all through the galaxy. Where she was, everyone knew her name. She had a manager who she was great friends with. And Kodada was doing well, too, flying for fun and actually getting to be a teenager. They didn't live together, but kept in contact… Kodada had a boyfriend, and while Chunini didn't know much about him, she knew they loved one another.

There were a few more details, but Gumimi didn't cling onto these. He was in too much shock that, on film, there was his older daughter. And she looked…

Happy.

And then it ended, and Junene gave a sigh, "…It says in the letter that where she is, it's too far for us to travel… She wants us to keep quiet about it…"

"She?"

"It's a woman's handwriting."

Gumimi rolled his eyes, "….So, I suppose we'll be doing that. Forget we ever saw it… Then why would someone send it to us?"

"To let us know that they're all right," Junene removed the disk, and turned around to him. "I'm going to Chunini's old friend's house to show her…. You're welcome to come, too, if you want."

"Why would I want to do something like that?"

"…Because Eriri was family to Chunini when we weren't. She deserves to know, too…"

"…I can't," Gumimi answered quietly, and Junene nodded, understanding what he meant by this. His new life was still one he was growing in to, and he wasn't quite prepared for a few things. One of these was being civil to Eriri.

"…I hope one day you'll find it in your heart, then," she said quietly. "…Good luck, Gumimi…"

"Junene."

"Mm?"

"You… Too," he answered in a mutter, his back to her. She smiled a bit, and nodded, exiting the apartment and heading towards Eriri's house.

Across town, in a moderately-sized house, there was a great ruckus as Kazeze came back with the mail. Even the children playing out in the back yard had come in, piling into the small, simple, but nice living room. It was Suzuzu's house, he had bought it. As the now-oldest sibling, he'd taken for as head of the family.

"A-All right, all right!" Kazeze held up her arms to hold the mail out of her siblings' grasp. "We'll go through it as soon as everyone calms down!"

And they did, piling onto and around the couch. She doled out the mail to each, stopping at the last one. It was simply addressed to "The Family of Corporal Lupapa" in shaky Keronese. Kazeze was cautious to open this, silently begging it wasn't a note saying that Suzuzu was no longer their legal guardian.

It was only a disk… And a note attached to it. She read this while the much more excitable Chishishi pulled the DVD from her hands, hurrying to the player.

"All right! I hope it's that game I saved up for!"

"…If you'd had any brains you would've saved that money for your education, you know," Ikiki grumbled, his arms folded.

"Ha! Lucky for you, I don't have any brains!" Chishishi countered, putting the disk and waiting. It was Amomo who first noticed Kazeze shaking as she read over the note.

"Sis… Everything all right?" Amomo asked quietly. And she looked on the screen, to the familiar sight. Her sister… Her big sister…

"Hey, let's show everyone that cute boyfriend of yours!" said the yellow Keronian woman beside her. This had been a teammate of hers. She reached up beneath Lupapa's hat, allowing a few lock picks to fall in the process, and held up a picture of a blue Keronian to the camera. "The future Mr. Lupa-chan, everyone!"

"S-Stop with the "Lupa-chan", already! And give me that back, you'll tear it!"

The video went on. She lived in a large forest, now, a beautiful place. She worked to keep it safe, and had a "nephew" there, named Marco. She had a whole family there. She loved playing something called futbol. She even read a little now, too. She'd given up on any sort of crime life, and used her skills for good. She still missed her siblings.

"S-She's alive?!" Chishishi gasped. "W-We've totally got to go find her, then!"

"This says we can't," Kazeze replied, holding up the letter. "And we can't say anything to anyone about this, either."

"Why not, I wonder?" Amomo thought aloud to herself.

"We should go find her, then!" Chishishi balled his fists and bolted up from his spot.

"…You really don't retain well, do you?" Ikiki asked with a sigh.

Hiyoyo looked up from his spot on the couch, and Doruru clung onto him tightly, "…We'll be together again..?" she asked her older brother hopefully.

"M-Maybe," he stuttered, and looked up to Kazeze. "I mean… We could try, right?"

"It says right here that it'd be impossible, though!" Kazeze huffed.

"And they said it'd be impossible for all of us to ever be together again," Suzuzu finally spoke, and stood from the couch. "…I say we see what we can do."

"Yeah, I want to meet her cute boyfriend!" Amomo giggled.

"At least we know she's all right until we do find her," Hiyoyo nodded, as did the others.

"Let's do it, then!" Chishishi said excitedly. "Let's go to where she went to, and find her!"

"All right, all right…" Kazeze sighed, holding up her arms. "It's not exactly that easy…. We'll have to figure out how to get there, first."

"Well… I know if it were any of us, she'd be doing it for us," Suzuzu added. "Let's start thinking of what we can do to make this happen."

"And, look at that! All on your own, like a big girl!" Fijiji giggled, letting go of the toddler Keronian's hands just long enough so that she stood on her own on Fijiji's lap. "Wouldn't your big brother be so proud of you?! You know he's a daddy now, too?"

"I got the mail, dear!" Oriri walked in, kissed his wife on the forehead, and lifted up his little girl, albeit with a little bit of difficulty. Things like this were harder for him, some times. Fijiji smiled and turned her head to a side, shuffling through the mail. More letters of apology, begging Oriri to come back and study with them. But it was too late, he had his own work to do.

"I brought a few home today with me, you don't mind, do you?" he asked, the little orange infant wriggling beneath one of his arms.

"Never!" she said with a smile. "You can have them work in the kitchen, maybe. They might like that! Oh! Show them that fun thing to do with flour and water, they'll really like that! Maybe Kajiji would like to play with them, too!"

A few Keronians shuffled in behind him… Some still wore the black cloaks, but none wore their masks any longer.

They all had the similar shy and skittish looks on their faces, and looked about the house in awe. Former scientists, all of them. Many who had lived in the same complex as Fujuju. Oriri and Fijiji now worked to rehabilitate them. Many worked next door in Gohaha and Enzizi's bakery. Nearly all of them lived behind the baker and the professor, in a large house that was still under construction. Many of the former scientists worked on helping to build it, learning to think for themselves and even how to have a bit of fun in the process.

"Oh! Watch this when you get a second, but watch it alone, all right? I think you'll like it!" Fijiji hopped up and passed Oriri and envelope, and smiled, rushing out of the house without another word.

Meanwhile, in the front of the house, time had stopped. Botan wanted to take in this moment, to get to know Fujuju's family, at least in passing. She wouldn't be able to directly contact them. There were scientists frozen in time—Some building the house, some working around Gohaha's bakery, and others, she could see from the windows, with Oriri, walking about his house. There was a tiny Keronian girl in Oriri's arms—She was bright orange, with bright, green-blue eyes. They looked like marbles. She knew these eyes well, herself.

She was starting to exhaust herself… Her vision was blacking. It was even worse given her current, pregnant state. She wouldn't be able to stay and watch this much longer…. This was already near-impossible for a Time Bender, but to do it this long a time…

She turned to leave, and to make time start again, when… She heard a voice. Or thought she did.

And she turned around, and indeed, there was someone running towards her.

"Wait! Hold on! Please!" Fijiji shouted out, waving to her. She stopped, panting, and Botan knelt down, still in a state of disbelief. "So you're my daughter-in-law! Oh, my… You… You're so beautiful!..."

"W-What… How…?" Botan looked about, in a rare, stunned moment. Fijiji giggled, and placed a hand over Botan's.

"Some times, the world's too big to explain everything," she giggled and squeezed her hand. "I don't always understand it, myself. You're so beautiful, and… His first wife was beautiful, too, wasn't she?"

"Well… Yes. She was."

"I thought so," she squeezed Botan's hand, and slowly placed another hand on the Time Bender's stomach. "Oh, what I wouldn't give to be there with them…."

"It… It would be impossible."

"Oh, I know, I know. Plus… Well, I can't always see these things clearly, but… I have the distinct feeling my little boy's got his hands full, now, anyway. And I have my little girl, and my husband, and… All of those nice scientists. They're good people, you know. They just need to smile a little more…. You better get going, you're exhausted!"

"I am very fatigued," Botan admitted, nodding.

"Well… Wait here! I have something to give you! Three seconds, all right? I'll be right back, I promise!" she hurried back into the house, reassuring Botan the entire way.

When she finally did come back, however, Botan had vanished. Fijiji gave a small sigh, but a smile with this, and held onto what she'd intended to give Botan close to her chest.

Time started again, and Fijiji was there to watch it. It was like nothing had happened, at all. She waited, watching, until she saw Enzizi and Gohaha rush out of their house. Nearly at the same time, Oriri hurried out of his own house, his little girl still clinging onto him.

And Fijiji listened to the excitement, but kept her eyes on the patch of earth where her son's wife had stood only moments ago.

"…He's all right. Thank goodness. I always knew he would be," she said to herself contently, shutting her eyes.

And across town, in a small house, a green Keronian woman watched, her child at her side. Her son had finally sprouted his legs and arms, and was beginning to waddle about. And she watched the television, and held on to her little child, and smiled.

"See? That's your uncle…" she said quietly to him, and kissed him atop the head. "You're going to be great like him one day, too! All of the family will be!"

The baby only gurgled in response, not paying much attention to the video of Romama, but only to his smiling mother.

"Kukuku! Well, that was one of my more interesting jobs…" Kururu laid back in his chair, his hands behind his head. "At least it was one way to stave off boredom…"

"Papa!" he heard the voice behind him, and barely turned around.

"Eh? What do you need?"

"I made dinner, if you want! Extra spicy tonight! I asked Dad to come, too, but he said he had emergency jungle training…."

"Smart man, kuku!"

"Did you want me to make you a plate?"

"Eh, I'll get it in a bit. I'm working now on something…"

"…Doesn't really look like you're doing anything…" Kirere muttered, confused.

"Nothing is still something, and I'm good at it, kuku!"

She gave a small laugh at this, and sighed, "All right, well… It's upstairs whenever you get hungry. Just don't work to hard, all right? Even if it's nothing."

"Oh, I think I'll managed…." he said, still not turning around to her. He only slightly glanced back to make sure she'd left when he heard her footsteps growing fainter and fainter, then finally disappearing, "Who would have thought deus ex machine incarnate wouldn't know how to edit and would need someone like me to? Kukuku! My, my, what an interesting day for all the parties involved…"

Fujuju came home and found Botan passed out asleep on the couch, looking much more exhausted than he'd seen her in a long time. He hopped up on the couch, pulling over a blanket onto her and resting beside her… It had been quite some time since he'd made the travel to Keron, so he also found himself tired.

"…You've been smoking…" he heard in a quiet voice, and he flinched.

"…Can't really get anything past you, can I?" he sighed, not even opening his eyes. "It was just one, I swear it. I promise I'll toss the rest out for good tomorrow… You seemed to have had a full day…"

"Mm…"

"…Everything all right?"

"Yes. Very," she answered. "What about with you?"

"Actually… I… I feel quite relaxed. Much more than I have in… Years, probably. Can't really put my finger on it…"

He saw a small smile creep onto Botan's lips, and wondered what this could possibly be about.

"…Are you certain you're all right, love?" he asked again, and she sat up.

"I think… It's as close to perfect as what my own opinion of perfect is…. I need to walk around a little…."

"The children kicking again? I think at least one's going to get the rumored athletic gene I'd always heard that ran in my family…" he remained laying down on the couch by himself, but, as he laid there, he became aware of something sticking out from underneath his pillow… Something didn't quite feel right about it… It was bothersome enough to where he finally sat up, removing the pillow.

And he immediately dropped it, and instead, picked up one of the stuffed dolls. It'd been a little set of six… And there were all six. The little Keronian dolls had been a favorite toy of his, before everything, when life had been so much simpler… And the six brightly-colored dolls still sat in their box, all smiling out at him…

"…Could it be…?" he turned over the box, and, in Keronian… His name. Written there by his mother long, long ago. It was faded, but it could have only been her handwriting. "What… What exactly did she do today…?"

"Fujuju…" her voice came out from the back room, more panicked than usual. He placed the doll back in its box, and hopped off of the couch.

"Everything all right?"

"I think I've just gone into labor," she answered calmly. And just as quickly, Fujuju went into an instant panic.

And that night, the next generation was born, while the old generation continued to be kept, for better or worse, in the past, and the current generation continued to live out their lives, for better or worse.

-The End


End file.
